With the trade dispute between Canada and the United States continuing to weigh on manufacturers, steelworkers are urging both governments to strengthen support for workers and return to meaningful negotiations.
At a press conference in Laval, north of Montreal, local leaders of the United Steelworkers-Métallos union described the uncertainty spreading through steel plants as tariffs and market disruption threaten production and employment.
Pierre Piedalue, president of a local union branch and an employee at Quebec-based nuts and bolts manufacturer Infasco, said recent plant closures have intensified fears among workers that their own facilities could be next.
“With the amount of closures we’ve seen recently, our workers are definitely impacted. They’re scared our factory will be next,” Piedalue said.
The exposure to the U.S. market is particularly significant for Infasco. Between 80 and 90 per cent of the company’s production is shipped south of the border, where its products are used in vehicle manufacturing and construction.
“We’re all worried. There are people who are getting close to retirement and want to be able to get there,” Piedalue said.
Steel industry built around cross-border links
The concerns were raised Tuesday as Roxanne Brown, international president of the United Steelworkers union, addressed the state of Canada-U.S. relations and the impact of the ongoing trade conflict.
The United States imposed a 50 per cent tariff on steel this summer, prompting Canada to respond with equivalent counter-tariffs.
Brown argued that the North American steel industry cannot be separated from the cross-border relationships that support it, saying disruptions affecting workers in one country can quickly spread to the other.
“When the steel worker in Pennsylvania loses work because of market disruption, workers in Ontario feel it. When an aluminum worker in Quebec faces uncertainty, workers in Ohio feel it,” she said.
According to Brown, steelworkers in both countries are also essential to industries such as defence and transportation. She cited submarines manufactured in Virginia as one example, noting that they are equipped with sonar and radar systems produced in Nova Scotia.
For Brown, the priority now should be a return to negotiations between Ottawa and Washington.
“Put workers first. Return to meaningful dialogue. Resolve this dispute. The relationship between our countries is too important to be defined by division,” she said.
She also urged North American leaders to concentrate more heavily on international competition, particularly from China.
Brown said China is producing more steel than it requires, leaving a large surplus that is entering international markets at low prices and putting additional pressure on North American steel producers.
“We can literally sit here all day and talk about what’s happened to the steel industry, to the aluminum industry, the pulp and paper industry, to the glass industry, to the container industry, to the box industry, to the … I can go on and on,” she said.
She argued that neither Canada nor the United States has yet done enough to address the broader industrial challenges and protect manufacturing employment across the continent.
Quebec union leaders seek more government action
Alain Duhamel, another local union president who works at metal tubing manufacturer Nova Tube, echoed the call for additional support from the Canadian government.
Ottawa has introduced several measures in recent years aimed at helping the steel sector. These include a $100-million program designed to support interprovincial steel trade, as well as $70 million in assistance for steelworkers through the Workforce Tariff Response program.
Duhamel acknowledged that workers and companies have benefited from subsidies already put in place, but said some of the measures arrived after the industry had already been hit.
“We’re asking (the Canadian government) to inject in the market and to (create more measures) for the workers who were involved and were laid off,” he said.
Jason Braconnier, another local union president who works at steel transformation mill ArcelorMittal, also described the impact of tariffs on workers and production.
The company sends approximately 30 per cent of its output to the United States. Braconnier said workers first experienced the consequences of American tariffs in 2018, when an earlier wave of trade measures was introduced.
He said the situation has since become considerably more severe.
“It wasn’t ideal, but now, with 50 per cent, factories are closing one by one.… The ones that haven’t closed down are on life support right now,” he said.
