For more than a century, the paper mill in Témiscaming, Quebec, has been more than an industrial operation. It has provided generations of families with steady employment, supported local businesses, and helped sustain a community built around forestry. Now, American tariffs are threatening that foundation.
The mill, owned by U.S.-based Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM), suspended production in early October 2026, leaving most of its approximately 360 employees without regular work. The shutdown has raised serious concerns about the town’s economic future, with residents fearing that a prolonged closure could trigger a wider exodus of families and businesses.
Yet Témiscaming is refusing to surrender its largest employer. Workers, union representatives, and community leaders are exploring ways to revive the operation, drawing inspiration from a remarkable rescue effort that saved the same mill more than five decades ago.
The Day the Mill Went Silent
On October 4, 2026, the final unionized employees completed their shifts at RYAM’s Témiscaming facility. The familiar steam rising above the factory disappeared, marking a dramatic change for a community accustomed to seeing the mill operating around the clock. According to Unifor, approximately 300 workers were left without their regular duties, while a smaller group remained responsible for essential maintenance, heating, and wastewater treatment.
The shutdown had originally been announced in late August, with operations scheduled to stop in mid-September. An unexpected increase in Canadian customer orders delayed the closure by approximately three weeks, offering employees temporary relief. However, those orders were insufficient to sustain production indefinitely. RYAM subsequently proceeded with what it described as an economic shutdown, without establishing a firm reopening date. Although the suspension is officially temporary, its indefinite duration has left employees unable to predict when normal operations might resume or whether their jobs will ultimately survive.
Why Trump’s 50% Tariffs Hit the Mill So Hard
The immediate crisis stems from American trade measures that dramatically increased the cost of certain Canadian products entering the United States. On August 22, 2026, Washington introduced additional tariffs of 50% on a range of Canadian goods, including paper products. Unlike some other American trade measures, these tariffs did not automatically exempt goods qualifying for preferential treatment under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
That distinction matters enormously for Témiscaming. Approximately 75% of the mill’s production is sold into the United States, making access to American customers essential to its business model. The facility manufactures paperboard used in products ranging from frozen-food packaging to scratch-off lottery tickets. When additional duties make Canadian goods significantly more expensive for American importers, maintaining competitive prices becomes increasingly difficult. RYAM has acknowledged that tariffs, combined with longstanding challenges in the pulp and paper industry, have made continued operations economically unsustainable. The result illustrates how quickly trade policies can undermine businesses deeply integrated into North American supply chains.
A Small Quebec Town With Everything at Stake
Témiscaming’s relationship with the paper industry stretches back to 1918, when the arrival of the Riordon Pulp and Paper Company helped establish the community. The town was designed partly around the needs of industrial workers and their families. More than a century later, that connection remains central to local life. Statistics Canada’s 2021 census recorded just 2,368 residents, making the uncertainty surrounding hundreds of industrial jobs particularly significant.
The economic consequences extend well beyond workers directly employed at the facility. Forestry contractors, transportation businesses, maintenance providers, retailers, and service companies all depend, directly or indirectly, on spending and industrial activity associated with the mill. One local contractor told the BBC that he had already laid off 13 employees. The community also endured approximately 275 layoffs when RYAM suspended operations at its separate high-purity cellulose plant in 2024. Another prolonged shutdown threatens to compound those earlier losses, potentially weakening the network of businesses that supports employment throughout the surrounding region.
Families Face Difficult Choices as Uncertainty Spreads
For mill employees, the immediate financial pressure is only part of the problem. Many have spent decades working in the forestry industry, developing specialized skills and establishing families in Témiscaming. Union leader Stéphane Lefebvre, who has worked at the facility for 37 years, has spoken about the anxiety spreading through the community. Residents are increasingly worried about what could happen to local schools, healthcare services, and other essential institutions if families begin leaving.
One worker, Nadine Suley, told the BBC that the mill’s future was inseparable from her connection to the community. She described plans to go moose hunting during the autumn season, joking about how valuable the meat could become during a difficult financial year. Other residents have expressed fears that Témiscaming could eventually lose much of its economic activity. Homes displaying sale signs have added to the unease. For households considering relocation, the decision involves more than finding another job. It can also mean leaving relatives, familiar surroundings, and a way of life developed over generations.
The Remarkable 1973 Rescue That Offers Hope Today
Témiscaming has faced an industrial crisis of this magnitude before. In May 1972, Canadian International Paper closed its local mill, eliminating approximately 600 jobs and throwing the community into economic turmoil. Instead of accepting the closure as permanent, former managers, employees, and residents organized an effort to purchase and reopen the facility. Their determination eventually produced Tembec, a locally rooted company established in 1973.
The rescue required substantial financial backing. A Canadian government report published in 1975 documented a $4.8-million federal industrial incentive offer, alongside contributions from private investors, Quebec’s Rexfor agency, employees, and community supporters. The combined financing reached approximately $17.3 million in dollars of that era. The report recorded 398 people working at the revived business. Frank Dottori, an engineer who helped organize the rescue and later became Tembec’s chief executive, remains an important figure in the town’s industrial history. That earlier success provides a concrete example of how community ownership, determined leadership, and public investment can work together to restore a threatened industrial employer.
Workers and First Nations Join Forces to Buy the Mill
The effort to save Témiscaming’s industrial future became more concrete on October 9, 2026, when Unifor announced support for a Canadian coalition seeking to purchase the RYAM facility. The proposed partnership brings together local mill managers, unionized employees, and First Nations representatives. Its objective is to restore production while keeping economic decisions connected to the communities most directly affected by the plant’s future.
The proposal remains preliminary, with no confirmed purchase price, binding acquisition agreement, or reopening timetable. Potential financing options discussed locally include participation from investors, Quebec financial institutions, and government programs, although no finalized funding arrangement has been announced. The concept is not entirely new to RYAM: the company had already begun exploring the possible sale of its Témiscaming paperboard and high-yield pulp assets in 2023. For the coalition, the immediate challenge is transforming community determination into a commercially viable proposal that addresses ownership, operating costs, market access, and the substantial financial risks created by continuing American tariffs.
Hundreds Rally as the Community Demands Action
On October 16, approximately 350 people gathered outside the RYAM facility to demonstrate support for affected workers. The event formed part of Unifor’s national day of action for forestry, which brought demonstrations to 36 Canadian communities. In Témiscaming, the crowd included current and former mill employees, residents, and local leaders. The gathering reflected the unusually strong connection between the facility and the surrounding region.
Solidarity also extended beyond municipal boundaries. Wolf Lake First Nation Chief Lisa Robinson addressed the gathering, emphasizing the longstanding relationship between Indigenous communities, workers, and the region’s industrial history. Kipawa Mayor Norman Young and Témiscaming Mayor Alain Gauthier also supported the workers’ cause. Union representatives argued that Canada needs a coordinated strategy involving governments, employers, and communities to protect forestry operations. The turnout demonstrated that the proposed rescue was more than an internal labour initiative. It had become a regional campaign focused on preserving skilled employment, industrial infrastructure, and future economic opportunities.
Government Assistance Offers Hope, but No Guaranteed Rescue
Ottawa has announced several measures intended to help Canada’s forestry industry withstand American trade pressure. In June 2026, the federal government committed an additional $400 million to regional development agencies, including $300 million through its Regional Tariff Response Initiative and $100 million for a new regional development fund. An October workforce program also introduced support for eligible employers seeking to retain and retrain staff. That initiative forms part of a broader $3.5-billion package aimed at protecting jobs and helping businesses adapt.
However, nationwide funding announcements do not amount to a confirmed rescue for Témiscaming. Mayor Alain Gauthier has called for direct, non-repayable assistance to support new products and markets, arguing that additional loans alone would not solve the problem. He has also urged governments to reinvest tariff revenue in affected industries. The distinction is crucial: unemployment assistance and retraining can help families through a shutdown, but restoring hundreds of industrial jobs requires customers, competitive operating costs, and an investor willing to keep the mill running.
Winter Could Make Reopening Even More Difficult
An idle paper mill cannot simply be abandoned until market conditions improve. Approximately 60 union members have continued essential duties at the Témiscaming complex, including wastewater treatment and operating the boiler needed to heat the facilities. Those responsibilities become increasingly important as winter approaches. Employees have warned that freezing temperatures could damage equipment if the site is not adequately protected, potentially adding another expensive obstacle to any eventual restart.
The clock is also ticking on the proposed community purchase. Prospective buyers would need to evaluate the condition of the equipment, secure financing, negotiate an acquisition, and demonstrate that the business could operate profitably. Even a successful ownership transfer would not eliminate American tariffs. Washington removed additional duties from some Canadian goods at the end of October, but the reported changes did not provide relief for the products manufactured at Témiscaming. Every passing week therefore brings two challenges: keeping a valuable industrial facility ready for production and finding a business model capable of surviving an unpredictable trade relationship.
What Témiscaming’s Struggle Means for Canadian Forestry
The battle over one Quebec mill reflects a much larger vulnerability in Canada’s economy. According to Natural Resources Canada’s 2025 annual report, the forestry sector directly employed 194,040 people in 2024, contributed $30.7 billion to gross domestic product, and exported $37.2 billion in products. American customers purchased approximately $28.5 billion of those exports, representing more than three-quarters of the total. Quebec accounted for roughly 30% of forestry employment nationwide, underscoring how deeply the province depends on the industry.
Those numbers become personal in communities such as Témiscaming, where a single industrial employer can influence the future of entire families. A successful rescue would require more than a change in ownership. It would demand reliable markets, substantial investment, and a credible plan for operating despite trade barriers. The 1973 revival demonstrated what determined workers and community partners can accomplish. Whether that history can repeat itself in 2026 remains uncertain. For now, the people of Témiscaming are fighting not simply to preserve a factory, but to keep their town economically viable for another generation.
