The federal government has admitted it knew Algoma Steel was planning layoffs in Sault Ste. Marie months before approving a $400 million taxpayer-backed loan, according to a new parliamentary disclosure.

The admission came in response to an order paper question from Conservative MP Jim Bélanger (Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt), answered January 26.

Finance Canada confirmed that Algoma first told the federal government in June 2025 that layoffs were a possible part of its business plan as it transitioned to a “sustainable long-term” model.

Despite that warning, Ottawa moved ahead with massive financial support.

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The government agreed in principle to provide Algoma with a $400 million loan on September 29, 2025, under the Large Enterprise Tariff Loan facility. The deal was finalized on November 17, 2025. The Ontario government simultaneously committed another $100 million, bringing the total public loan package to $500 million.

Just days later, on November 30, 2025, Algoma formally informed the Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation that it would proceed with layoffs.

Bélanger also asked whether the federal government secured any job guarantees in exchange for the loan. Ottawa refused to say.

“The specifics of agreements… are subject to commercial confidentiality,” the Department of Finance said, declining to disclose whether workers’ jobs were protected as a condition of the bailout.

The disclosure undermines earlier claims that the loan was meant to protect jobs in Northern Ontario and raises new questions about why taxpayers were put on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars without clear employment guarantees.