The shutdown of Témiscaming's primary employer has left most of its 360 mill workers reliant on government relief for partial wages while collateral damage spreads to local businesses. In response, a coalition of workers is organizing an initiative to buy the facility back from its American owner, drawing inspiration from a successful 1973 community buyout. However, union organizers stress that saving the town will require intervention and financial support from both Quebec and federal officials.
Key points
Severe American trade penalties reaching up to 50% are devastating specialized Canadian r…: Severe American trade penalties reaching up to 50% are devastating specialized Canadian resource communities despite broader national economic stability.
Workers and union leaders are seeking provincial and federal backing to execute a communi…: Workers and union leaders are seeking provincial and federal backing to execute a community buyout of the idled manufacturing plant.
The sudden industrial suspension threatens essential regional healthcare and retail servi…: The sudden industrial suspension threatens essential regional healthcare and retail services by triggering severe property devaluations and resident departures.
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As you cross the Ottawa river into Témiscaming, Quebec, the paper mill takes up much of the horizon.
The town itself was built over a century ago, around the mill and the region's forests filled with pine, birch, spruce and fir. Now, the main employer and economic anchor sits idle after trade talks broke down between Canada and the US and President Donald Trump imposed more tariffs on the country.
Most of the mill‘s 360 employees are out of work, kept afloat for the moment with partial pay from government tariff-relief.
For some, like Nadine Suley, the shuttering of the mill could mark not just a lost livelihood, but a lost way of life.
She is not "a city girl", and is heading out moose hunting later to take advantage of the short season, like much of the town. She quips they'll all need the free meat provided by the animals this year.
"It's not just a job. It's our home," Suley says, adding that the US tariffs on her town feel like "a personal attack".
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