Trump's tariffs could shutter this Canadian town - its residents are fighting to save it
A paper mill in Témiscaming, Quebec, has shut down indefinitely following the imposition of new US tariffs, threatening the economic survival of the town. Residents are struggling to cope with the loss of their primary employer and the potential for their community to become a ghost town.
Why it matters
This illustrates the localized, human impact of international trade wars and protectionist economic policies on small, resource-dependent communities.
Figure caption, "We're going to fight" - How a paper mill's uncertain future could devastate tiny Quebec town
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.
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