Roman Shimonov

Immigrant Founder

A conference biography says Shimonov immigrated to Canada about ten years before that profile was written and, before Roshel, founded and ran an encryption company serving defence customers. It describes him as “a strong believer in self-reliance.” His birth date, birthplace and early life were not found in the sources reviewed and are not stated here.

Building Roshel

Roshel was founded in 2016 and launched its Senator armoured personnel carrier in 2018. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it shifted to mass production for the Ukrainian military, and Canada donated the first eight Senators that year. In a 2024 interview, Shimonov said the company had delivered more than 1,000 vehicles to Ukraine and that “every year of operation is akin to ten years of experience,” while describing plans for a $65 million Brampton headquarters and a facility in the United States. Figures about deliveries and capacity are the company’s own.

Customers and Expansion

The company’s customers have included NASA, which used a Senator to carry astronauts in 2020, and the US State Department, which awarded purchase agreements in 2024 worth $130.6 million for 330 vehicles. It opened a Michigan plant in December 2024, announced Ukrainian production in 2025, sold vehicles to Moldova, Bosnia and Haiti, and, in December 2025, sold 20 Senators to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for about C$10 million. It also unveiled a counter-drone Senator with Leonardo in May 2025.

The Brampton Plant Deal

Stellantis and Roshel signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2026, and the asset purchase agreement followed on November 9. Roshel plans a “new centre of excellence for advanced manufacturing” and says Stellantis will lease back about a quarter of the site. Shimonov said the plan “will strengthen our sovereign industrial capabilities” and let Canadian companies “export into allied markets.” The deal is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to government and regulatory approvals. Reports say between 700 and 1,000 laid-off workers could have opportunities to return.

Opposition and Open Questions

Unifor’s president, Lana Payne, called the sale “devastating” for the auto industry, and the union accused Stellantis of an “underhanded deal” that lets it walk away from its commitments. The federal government had agreed in 2022 to provide up to $529 million to retool Brampton and Windsor, of which $222 million had been paid by March 2025 with no per-plant breakdown. Three anonymous sources told a news organisation that Stellantis has offered to return $24 million, and said that Ottawa took part in the talks without blocking the sale; Joly’s office said the government “never advocated for a deal.” An industry association leader said armoured-vehicle jobs would be a fraction of the plant’s former employment. Shimonov has said critics either lack the facts or are ignoring them, and that Roshel shared its plan with the government and will give priority to Brampton residents. Poilievre called for a lawsuit to recover taxpayer money. The jobs Roshel would create have not been quantified.

Timeline