Algoma Steel fined $1.2 million over 2022 oil spill

Algoma Steel Inc. has been fined $1.2 million after pleading guilty to two federal offences connected to a 2022 gear-oil spill into the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie.

The Ontario Court of Justice imposed the fine September 10, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. The company pleaded guilty to one offence under the Fisheries Act and one under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994.

Fine goes to environmental projects

The case arose from an overflow at Algoma Steel’s facility between June 8 and 9, 2022. Federal investigators estimated that 1,000 to 1,250 litres of gear oil entered the river. The department classifies the oil as harmful under the two statutes involved.

The full fine will be paid into the federal Environmental Damages Fund, which finances projects intended to repair environmental damage or otherwise benefit the environment. Algoma Steel’s name will also be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.

The conviction and sentence are completed court outcomes, not allegations. The federal release does not identify a separate remediation order or quantify ecological damage from the spill.

Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, published September 11, 2026; sentence imposed September 10, 2026.