Ottawa's Selective War Effort Leaves Quebec's Timber Towns to Fend for Themselves

When Ottawa talks of trade wars, it seems to measure the battlefield by political geography rather than economic equity. In Témiscaming, Quebec, the primary paper mill now sits idle—an early casualty of the 50 percent tariffs imposed by Washington on C$28 billion worth of Canadian goods. For a single-industry town carved out of pine and spruce forests over a century ago, the indefinite economic shutdown by American owner RYAM presents an existential reckoning.

The math behind the shutdown is brutally simple. Roughly 75 percent of the mill’s output, primarily paperboard for packaging and lottery tickets, is bound for the American market. When trade talks collapsed, the mill’s 360 workers were abruptly cast onto partial tariff-relief support. Property values dropped overnight, and small-business owners along with municipal leaders worry that essential workers, from grocery clerks to doctors, will soon follow the economic tide out of town.

Desperate for a solution, local union representative Stéphane Lefebvre and his colleagues are attempting to conjure the spirit of 1973. Back then, a worker-led buyout saved the plant from closure, ultimately transforming it into the international corporation Tembec under former CEO Frank Dottori. Yet repeating history requires more than working-class resolve. Without massive financial backing from Quebec and the federal government, local ambition cannot overcome the reality of sub-zero winter temperatures that threaten to freeze idle machinery permanently.

Here lies the central friction of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s economic response. While Ottawa joined Ontario in committing nearly C$9 billion to support the steel and automotive sectors, the forestry industry has received far less dramatic gestures. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly threatened steel producer Stelco with penalties over potential job cuts, but Bloc Québécois MP Sébastien Lemire argues that timber communities have been largely left behind. Government officials point to a $400 million fund for rural forestry and cash-flow aid, yet local leaders like Mayor Alain Gauthier publicly characterize Canada’s response to American tariffs as bringing toy weapons to a serious confrontation.

Across the border, the logic driving the conflict remains consistent. US President Donald Trump maintains that broad tariffs are essential to rebuild American manufacturing and shield domestic workers from foreign competition. While selective tariff adjustments have occurred—such as recent exemptions pushed by Maine Senator Susan Collins—paper products remain firmly subject to import duties. As Témiscaming looks toward the US midterm elections for political relief, the town stands as a clear lesson in how quickly industrial policy can leave rural economies exposed.

Written by Thorben Thiede thorben.thiede@alpineweekly.com