Anxiety about Trump tariffs runs deep in Quebec industrial cities

TROIS-RIVIÈRES, Que. — Quebec cities that are particularly vulnerable to U.S. tariffs are struggling to keep up with the twists and turns of President Donald Trump’s erratic trade policies.

In Trois-Rivières and nearby Bécancour, Que., the trade war with the United States is causing anxiety among workers, entrepreneurs and politicians — and affecting productivity.

“The workers are extremely worried. The number of calls and messages I’m receiving is frightening,” said Jessy Trottier, president of the union local at an aluminum rod factory in Bécancour. The plant, owned by Brazil-based Alubar Group, exports around 95 per cent of its product to the U.S.

The fact that Trump has repeatedly changed course on tariffs has created uncertainty that everyone could do without, Trottier said during an interview on Wednesday. A day earlier, the Trump administration had imposed 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. Then on Thursday, the president granted a partial suspension of the tariffs until April 2, but also said he plans to move ahead with 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum starting March 12.

“We have a lot of new workers, they’re young, they’ve just bought a house and started a family, they’re building their lives,” Trottier said. “It is very worrying.”

The factory has been caught in the middle of this week’s roller-coaster ride. Trottier said Brazilian senior management informed the plant on Monday evening that production would be halted. The union published a press release Tuesday morning announcing the factory was being closed due to the tariffs.

Later that morning, Trottier said, the company did an about-face and announced the closure was only temporary and the plant would reopen Wednesday. But Trottier fears that Alubar won’t be able to withstand the 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum that could take effect March 12.

The Alubar factory processes about 30 per cent of the aluminum from the nearby Aluminerie de Bécancour, which employs 1,200 workers. Alubar spokesperson Monica Alvarez said the company plans to continue producing at “the same rate as that planned for 2025,” regardless of tariffs.

Trois-Rivières is strategically located along the St. Lawrence River, about 130 kilometres northeast of Montreal. It produces and processes aluminum, forestry and agri-food products, and businesses in the area export nearly $3 billion in goods annually to the U.S., representing nearly one-quarter of the region’s gross domestic product, according to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

A recent study from the chamber found that Trois-Rivières is second in Quebec and ninth in Canada on the list of Canadian cities most vulnerable to tariffs.

“In recent years, we have had to live with inflation, labour shortages, COVID. These are things that are very difficult to control, but we understand that these are unforeseen events that can happen. But the tariffs are hard to understand because they are created by one person who has really disrupted things that were going well,” said Jean-Philippe Martin, president of the Trois-Rivières chamber of commerce, in an interview Wednesday.

Businesses are spending a lot of time trying to understand what’s happening and predict the consequences, to the point that productivity is suffering, Martin said.

Yves Lacroix, general manager of FAB 3R, a manufacturer of heavy equipment destined mainly for the hydroelectricity sector and the pulp and paper industry, said he’s decided that the uncertainty and unpredictability of the American president will not dictate his company’s activities.

“Since February, when (Trump) decided to delay the tariffs by a month, I made the decision that I would stop worrying about it,” he said.

FAB 3R has the advantage of manufacturing unique products that its American customers would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. The disadvantage, though, is that it would be difficult for the company to diversify its clientele if tariffs persisted for a long time. Half of the company’s roughly 60 clients are American.

“Some people talk about diversification, but these are not products that can be sold in Europe or Asia,” Lacroix said. “We can’t transport them there. It would cost far too much.”

Across the St. Lawrence River from Trois-Rivières, Bécancour Mayor Lucie Allard said she’s “very worried” for businesses in the region, including in the aluminum sector, but also in the burgeoning electric vehicle battery industry, which has attracted major investment from different levels of government.

Bécancour describes itself as “the epicentre of Quebec’s energy transition” and various factories are under construction in the city’s new industrial park. Companies setting up shop there, such as Nemaska ​​Lithium and Ultium Cam, are planning to sell their products to American car manufacturers.

But the trade war could cause harm to those projects, which are important to the city’s and the province’s economy. Among locals, Allard said, criticism of Trump is “very, very severe.”

Confronted with the Trump administration’s about-faces, surprise announcements and threats, Allard summed up in a few words the paradox facing many economic and political decision makers. “We are waiting, but also in a hurry to act.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2025.

Stéphane Blais, The Canadian Press