In July 2021, The Government of Canada announced a $400M contribution towards a planned $1.8B project at ArcelorMittal Dofasco to phase out coal-fired steelmaking by 2028. Construction on this project has not started and community members have had a hard time obtaining updates from both company and government representatives.

Here is a timeline of events from the project announcement in 2021 to now, in reverse chronological order. New updates will be added to the list!

• April 11, 2026: Dofasco announces it will decommission one of its two remaining coke plants on April 13, 2026.

• March 2, 2026: Hamilton, Sarnia residents file a formal application for review asking Ontario to fix its cumulative air pollution policy.
  • Ontario air quality regulations only consider the health impacts of air pollution from each emission source in isolation. They do not take into account the combined impact of multiple emissions sources, which is what residents actually experience, except in very limited cases.
  • In 2018 the Ontario government released a Cumulative Effects Assessment that defined the limited cases:
    • New facilities
    • Expanding facilities
    • Only in Hamilton/Burlington and Sarnia/Corunna
  • The Cumulative Effects Assessment was due to be reviewed within two years of its release, but it has not yet been reviewed.
  • The Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP) has 60 days to respond to the request.
    
    
• January 22, 2026: Environmental Defense, Steelwatch, and Environment Hamilton post joint press release calling for ArcelorMittal Dofasco to give a clear project timeline update.
  
  
• January 20, 2026: ArcelorMittal Dofasco holds quarterly online Community Liaison Committee (CLC) meeting attended by 57 people.
  • Company representatives state the decarbonization project timeline has been drawn out but their intentions have not changed.
  • Cited tariff environment as a barrier to progress.
  • Did not answer questions when it was pointed out that the project stalled before tariffs were introduced.
  • Did not confirm federal government comments about DRI facility.
    
    
• January 14, 2026: CBC reports on changes to the Government of Canada's project agreement with Dofasco, which include:
  • Increasing the federal government's investment from $400 million to $450 million.
  • Extending the project timeline from 2028 to 2050, although government officials state this timeline is for accounting purposes and that they still expect the project to be complete by 2030.
  • Adjusting the language of the agreement so that the scope of the project is more vague.
    
    Government officials also stated that they expect the Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) production to be done at ArcelorMittal's Contrecoeur plant in Québec where DRI is already produced, rather than the original proposal which requires a new 14 km gas pipeline built through Hamilton.
    
    
• December 2025: MECP denies the November 2025 investigation request.
  • Reporting indicates that more stringent sulphur dioxide pollution limits (which would require equipment upgrades) were forgiven due to the planned decarbonization project.
  • Unclear what will happen with these regulations now that project is delayed.
    
    
• November 2025: Hamilton resident partners with EcoJustice to file an investigation request into Dofasco’s emissions.
  
  
• September 2024: CBC Hamilton investigation confirms that key project milestones were missed at Dofasco and that the original project manager quit.
  
  
• July 2023: MECP communicates at quarterly Community Liaison Committee (CLC) meetings for Dofasco and Stelco that it continues to work on an Integrated Steel Technical Standard (initially discussed in CLC meetings as early as 2019).
  
  
• March 2023: Hamilton City Council passes a motion that directs the Mayor to contact the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) to articulate that the City of Hamilton is opposed to any extension or continued special permissions for contaminants above provincially regulated general air standards.
  • Site-specific standards for Dofasco and Stelco expired in June 2023. Since then, Dofasco and Stelco have been operating under a regulatory grey area “abatement plan.”
    
    
• February 2023: Representatives from ArcelorMittal Dofasco and Enbridge Gas present at Hamilton City Council to propose the installation of a new 14 km fossil gas pipeline to fuel the project. 
  • Climate scientists were urgently calling for no new fossil fuel infrastructure (and continue to).
  • Residents voiced concerns as most fossil gas sourced in Ontario comes from fracking operations in the US. Fracking is an especially environmentally destructive gas extraction technique.
  • Residents suggested retrofitting homes so that gas could be redirected to Dofasco instead of through a new pipeline.
  • Two public consultations were held in March 2023 but no updates on the project since then.
    

• February 2022: Government of Ontario announces it will contribute $500 million in loans and grants to the project. ArcelorMittal Dofasco also makes an announcement confirming it will move ahead with the decarbonization project, stating it would reduce carbon emissions by 60%.
  
  
• July 2021: Government of Canada announces $400M investment in a $1.8B project agreement with ArcelorMittal Dofasco to convert its steel production facility and phase out coal-fired steelmaking by 2028.
  • Coke making and blast furnace facilities at the plant would be replaced with Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) and Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) technology.
  • The most hazardous air contaminants produced by the burning of coal, like benzene and benzo(a)pyrene, would be eliminated by this conversion, but fossil gas would still be used for the DRI step.
  • The company promised overall greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 60%.