Quebec town seeks to buy idle paperboard mill amid US tariff pressure

The paperboard mill in Témiscaming, Quebec, stopped production in early October for an indefinite period, leaving the town’s main employer idle. Most of its 360 employees are out of work and receiving partial pay through government tariff relief, the BBC reports.

The union Unifor said about 300 workers were without work on 7 October, while a smaller group remained to maintain essential services and the facilities. The town had already lost about 260 jobs when the mill’s specialty cellulose operation closed in 2024, local newspaper Le Reflet reported.

The mill has sent roughly three-quarters of its production to the United States, according to the BBC. Local union leader Stéphane Lefebvre told Le Reflet that the mill was still receiving orders, but he considered tariffs of up to 50% impossible to sustain.

A US decision to remove an additional 50% duty from some Canadian imports took effect on 30 October. The BBC reports that the changes do not apply to products made at the Témiscaming mill.

On 9 October, Unifor Québec announced that local managers, union members and First Nations representatives had formed a coalition to explore buying the plant and restarting production. The group is drawing inspiration from an earlier rescue: after a previous owner closed the mill in 1972, workers, former managers and the community helped buy and reopen it as Tembec in 1973. RYAM bought Tembec in 2017.

Unifor Québec director Daniel Cloutier told Le Reflet on 9 October that discussions were under way, but that the asking price was the main obstacle. The coalition was also talking to the federal and provincial governments about possible support, he said. RYAM told the BBC it would not comment on a potential sale or prospective buyers.

A spokesperson for Canada’s industry minister told the BBC that the government had made funding available for forestry in rural and remote areas and was working with all parties on a viable solution for the mill. As of 26 October, Le Reflet reported, the proposed purchase and its financing remained at a preliminary stage.