Analyst: Canada’s steel industry growing

While a tentative agreement has been reached, there are still a lot of questions about the the future of steel workers in Hamilton.

Peter Warrian is a steel expert from the Munk School of Global Affairs, at the University of Toronto. In an interview Wednesday afternoon, he told CHCH News the future of the steel industry across Canada is actually growing, and that between 20,000 and 30,000 workers will need to be hired nationally over the next five years. The question for Hamilton is how much of that work it will see.

As for U.S. Steel’s future in Hamilton, Warrian put it like this:
“U.S. Steel came here to consolidate its production within North America, and that’s the wildcard. We think of Stelco as a huge place. It’s not a huge place, it’s a big place and it’s become a feeder plant for U.S. Steel across North America. If the whole economy continues to grow then I’m sure they’ll use it but if it goes into a recession it could be all bets are off.”

Video: Watch the interview: