U.S. tariffs on auto importing have caused mass uncertainty across Canada as companies adjust their strategies to deal with the extra costs.Nowhere is that more true than in Brampton, a city where nearly 3,000 people were employed at the Stellantis plant.Nathan Reilly, a lifelong Bramptonian, was an autoworker at the Stellantis plant since 2014. He’s one of the more than 200 workers who moved 350 kilometres away for a job at the Windsor plant when Stellantis cancelled its plans to build the Jeep Compass in Brampton.“I would have never thought [I’d live] this far out, London’s the furthest I’ve ever come out this way, but I would’ve never thought in a million years Windsor,” said Reilly in an interview with CityNews.Related:Stellantis selling stake in Ontario battery plant as part of wider EV resetJoly says Stellantis getting a notice of default following production shift to U.S.Ottawa cuts tariff relief on some American cars due to Stellantis, GM cutsStellantis employed 3,000 people at the Brampton plant, resulting in thousands of spin-off jobs in the auto sector. It closed for retooling in late 2023 with workers expected to get back on the job in the spring of 2026.Instead, the retooling stopped and the promised vehicle got moved to Illinois. A few hundred workers made the decision to move and work at the Windsor plant.Reilly, a father of four including a son with special needs, was among them and had to uproot his whole life.Nathan Reilly with his wife and four kids. Reilly uprooted his family from Brampton to Windsor when the Stellantis plant shut down. Photo credit: Nathan Reilly.“There’s a whole lot that had to be taken into consideration because … well, for one, my dad’s terminally ill, my grandfather, nobody else is around to take care of him,” shared Reilly. “And then taking my family into consideration as well. That was a bigger conversation that had to be had with more people, right? My kids weren’t happy about it.”Neither was Vito Beato, the president of Unifor Local 1285.“You’re uprooting families. You’re uprooting your lives. So very, very big decision for our members to make to try to maintain their work and 100 per cent of their pay,” said Beato.Many workers should be back on the Brampton line by now, but “everything is uncertain right now … [and] during that whole time that we’ve been down,” according to Beato.“There isn’t a car lined up, but we do have a negotiated contract that speaks to the Jeep Compass and speaks to the investment. And the company keeps saying, ‘Big plans for Brampton,’ so we’re going to keep pressing because they can’t just walk away.”Stellantis has already received over $200 million in funding from the federal government to retool the Brampton and Windsor plants. The City of Brampton also recently rezoned the land the plan sits on for automotive manufacturing only.“The company can’t do anything there other than automotive manufacturing. So they can’t sell it and try to build homes. They can’t sell it and try to build townhouses, they can’t sell it and turn it into a warehouse or an Amazon [warehouse]. They can only build cars there,” Beato said.Stellantis wouldn’t say what plans it has for the plant or the land and believes it doesn’t owe the Canadian government any money back because of the jobs it created in Windsor.“Stellantis remains focused on a strong Canadian footprint and is actively evaluating future programs for Brampton, with the objective to ensure that any investment decision is sustainable and a long-term commitment that supports workers and suppliers,” read their statement to CityNews.While the union is still fighting to get another vehicle in the Brampton plant, Reilly says he and his won’t be making a U-turn and coming home.“I don’t think I could. I don’t think I can do that to my family now. Everyone’s going to be established here,” he said.There were rumours that Stellantis was in talks with Chinese electric vehicle maker Leapmotor to start assembling some vehicles in Brampton, but Stellantis didn’t address CityNews’ questions about those talks or potential negotiations with other Chinese EV manufacturers.Related:Potential for Chinese EV production at Stellantis plant raises concernsCanada EV deal with China boosts investment potential but U.S. access question loomsAnd while all levels of government have been advocating for the return of Stellantis, the City of Brampton is setting its sights on attracting the next big industries.This story is the first of a three-part series taking a look at how Brampton and Oshawa are adjusting to no longer having auto plants currently operating in their cities and the auto workers affected.