In a small Quebec town built around the forests of the Ottawa River valley, a paper mill that once anchored generations of families now stands silent, its doors closed by the shifting tides of a trade quarrel between two nations. The shutdown is a reminder of how far a distant policy dispute can travel, reaching kitchen tables, property values and the quiet confidence of a community that has survived threats before. Its residents now look to the memory of their grandparents, who bought their mill from its owners in 1973, and wonder whether history can repeat itself before winter sets in.
Trump's Tariffs Threaten a Quebec Town's Mill, and Its Residents Are Fighting to Save It
Around 360 mill employees are out of work and the town faces possible loss of its economic anchor, with essential services at risk.
"It's not just a job. It's our home."
Mark
Why does this one mill matter beyond 360 jobs?
Mimi
Because the town grew around it. Property values fell almost overnight, and people fear grocery clerks and hospital doctors will leave too.
Mark
And the buyback idea comes from the town's own history?
Mimi
Yes. In 1973 workers and managers bought the mill from its American owner and built Tembec. Frank Dottori helped organise that, with a 10% pay cut.
Luke
Worth noting that's a hope, not a plan. RYAM won't comment on a sale or buyers, and no financing has been described.
Mark
Is Canada's economy actually in trouble?
Mimi
Nationally, no. Unemployment has held near 6.5%. The damage is concentrated in tariffed sectors like steel, autos and forest products.
Luke
Right, and the criticism of Ottawa comes from the mayor, the union leader and a Bloc MP. The government says it has $400m for forestry and a cash-flow program, and is working on a solution. Whether that is enough isn't settled.
Mark
What's the clock?
Mimi
Winter. Sub-zero cold could freeze equipment in the idle plant and make reopening harder.
Luke
And the midterm hope is speculative. Some tariffs were lifted after Senator Collins lobbied, but not on this mill's products.
O Pulso
- A century-old mill in Témiscaming has gone dark after US tariffs of up to 50% crippled its export business, idling most of its 360 workers.
- For Sale signs are appearing across the town as property values slide and fears spread that the local hospital and shops could follow the mill out.
- Workers are organising a buyback bid modelled on the 1973 purchase, racing against a deadline set by sub-zero winter cold that could freeze the equipment.
- The bid depends on urgent federal or Quebec intervention, and the town's fate now hangs on whether Ottawa offers relief to its forestry sector before the cold arrives.
In a small Quebec town built around the forests of the Ottawa River valley, a paper mill that once anchored generations of families now stands silent, its doors closed by the shifting tides of a trade quarrel between two nations. The shutdown is a reminder of how far a distant policy dispute can travel, reaching kitchen tables, property values and the quiet confidence of a community that has survived threats before. Its residents now look to the memory of their grandparents, who bought their mill from its owners in 1973, and wonder whether history can repeat itself before winter sets in.
Crossing the Ottawa River into Témiscaming, Quebec, you see the paper mill first, filling much of the skyline. The town grew up around it over more than a century, fed by the pine, birch, spruce and fir forests that surround it. Today the mill is idle. After Canada and the United States failed to reach a trade deal, Washington imposed 50% duties on a wide range of Canadian wood and paper goods, and in October the mill's American owner, RYAM, shut it indefinitely. Most of its 360 employees now depend on partial pay from a government tariff-relief program.
The damage has moved quickly through the community. Home values have dropped, 'For Sale' signs are going up in yards, and people fear that the workers who lose their jobs will be followed by grocery clerks and hospital staff. A local contractor has already laid off 13 people, a sign of how far the pain may reach into the region's sawmills and trucking. Residents describe the mill not just as a job but as the foundation of their lives. One mill worker's son warns the town could become a ghost town without it.
The town has been here before. In 1973, when its owner threatened to close the mill, workers and managers pooled their resources and bought it, building it into the Quebec-owned company Tembec. RYAM acquired it in 2017, and now a coalition of locals hopes to buy it back. Union leader Stéphane Lefebvre, whose father and grandfather worked there, says the effort will fail without serious help from Prime Minister Mark Carney or the Quebec government. Frank Dottori, who led the first buyout and remembers being rebuffed by the provincial premier at the time, is doubtful but not dismissive. He believes the group can succeed if it organises itself, and insists tariffs must be lifted for the mill to recover.
The mayor does not blame the owner. He is calling on Ottawa to protect Canadian board makers from cheap imports and says the country has been fighting this war with inadequate weapons. Workers are watching the midterm elections in the US and hoping political pressure will bring relief, though the recent tariff changes have not covered their products. Most of all, they are counting the weeks until winter, when the cold could ruin the equipment and make restarting the mill far harder. Lefebvre has made his position clear: the town is in the final stretch and will keep fighting until the last whistle.
Driving across the Ottawa River into Témiscaming, Quebec, the paper mill fills much of the skyline. The town was built more than a century ago around that mill and the pine, birch, spruce and fir forests that feed it. Today the mill sits idle. Trade talks between Canada and the United States collapsed, President Donald Trump piled on more tariffs, and the town's main employer went dark.
In early October, the American owner, RYAM, carried out what it called an "economic shutdown" of the mill for "an indefinite period." Most of the 360 employees are now out of work, held up for the moment by partial pay from a government tariff-relief program. The mill makes paperboard used in frozen-food packaging across North America and in scratch-off lottery tickets sold at convenience stores, and it sends roughly 75% of its output to the US. In August, after talks broke down, Washington put 50% duties on about C$28bn of Canadian goods, including pulp, stationery, boxes and other wood and paper products. Canada answered with its own dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs.
The effects have spread through town quickly. Property values dropped almost overnight, and "For Sale" signs now stand in the yards of the modest middle-class homes that make up most of Témiscaming. People worry that grocery clerks and the doctors at the small local hospital could follow the mill workers out. Nadine Suley, who says she is not "a city girl," was heading out moose hunting during the short season, as much of the town does, and joked that everyone will need the free meat this year. "It's not just a job. It's our home," she says, calling the tariffs "a personal attack." Ronnie Raymond, from a family of mill workers, warns that without the mill "it'll turn into a ghost town." A local contractor told the BBC he has already laid off 13 people, a sign of how the pain could reach sawmills and trucking across the region's forestry sector.
Nationally, Canada has held up reasonably well against the trade war with its largest customer. Unemployment has stayed near 6.5% since the tariffs began, and growth has been tepid but steady. Underneath, though, steel, aluminium, autos, and lumber, pulp and paper are suffering deeply. Stéphane Lefebvre, an employee and union leader whose father and grandfather also worked at the mill, says a 10% job loss in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City or Vancouver would dominate the news and pressure governments to act.
The town has faced an existential threat before. In 1973, the mill's American owner threatened to close it, and workers and managers banded together to buy it. They built it into Tembec, a Quebec-owned company with operations across North America and France. RYAM bought the mill in 2017. Now a coalition of locals wants to buy it back. "We're hoping that lightning will hit twice," Lefebvre says in the union hall, though he says it cannot happen without major help from Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Quebec government, whether as tariff relief or financial support. Suley argues that backing the bid would match Carney's "buy local" message. RYAM told the BBC it would not comment on a possible sale or buyers.
Frank Dottori, now in his 80s and retired in Témiscaming, lived the first buyout. An engineer at the mill, he helped persuade employees in the 1970s to take a 10% pay cut to fund the purchase, and later became CEO. The effort was considered foolish; he recalls being "politely ejected" by the Quebec premier when he asked for support. It succeeded with the union's help and an ex-employee with executive experience and plenty of swagger. Dottori says the new generation needs someone equally bold, and of the local group he says: "Highly unlikely. Can they get it? Yeah, if they organise themselves." He adds that tariffs must be lifted, at least in the short term, to restore the mill's viability.
Mayor Alain Gauthier does not blame RYAM, calling the tariffs "a bomb to shut down our manufacturing in Canada." He wants Ottawa to put duties on US board products entering Canada tariff-free, saying there is "absolutely no evidence of war measures" and that Canada went to war "with kid's water guns." Some locals feel forestry has been overlooked. This month Industry Minister Mélanie Joly threatened Stelco, owned by US-based Cleveland-Cliffs, with penalties or a forced asset sale if it proceeds with layoffs of some 500 workers. Last week Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced nearly C$9bn for Ontario's steel and auto sectors. Bloc Québécois MP Sébastien Lemire, who represents Témiscaming, says he is "very concerned and worried" about federal inaction. Joly's spokesperson pointed to $400m for forestry in rural and remote areas, a cash-flow program for tariff-hit businesses, and said the government is working with all parties on a viable solution for the company.
Some workers hope the US midterm elections, and Trump's falling approval ratings, will force tariff relief. Some tariffs on Canadian goods were lifted last week after lobbying by Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins, who faces re-election in November, but the changes do not cover Témiscaming's products. Suley and others want a resolution before winter, when sub-zero cold could freeze equipment and make a restart harder. Lefebvre says he will pursue local ownership regardless: "We're in Game Seven right now. We're gonna play till the last whistle."
Citações Notáveis
We're hoping that lightning will hit twice.— Stéphane Lefebvre, union leader and mill employee
If the mill goes down, it'll turn into a ghost town.— Ronnie Raymond, Témiscaming resident
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