François Legault

Quebec Premier François Legault is warning that 30,000 forestry jobs could be lost in the province because of Canada’s trade war with the US, an estimate equivalent to half the work force in that industry. His comments have set off alarm bells in various Quebec regions and logging towns. The sector represented 9.6% of Quebec exports by value in 2023 as well as GDP of $6.4-billion. …“What we want is that Trump pulls back [on tariffs] and that we’re able to diversify a part of our forest industry sales. But at the same time, we have to be realistic.” That includes having forestry workers retrain for mining jobs, he said. Political observers have remarked in recent days on what they characterized as… a reckless pronouncement. “When the captain of the ship says ‘It’s done’ and tells workers ‘Don’t go into that industry,’ it sets off a panic.” [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription is required]