'We look a little stupid,' says Quebec manufacturer stung by Canada's counter-tariffs

Ask Louis Lafleur how he's feeling about American tariffs and his response comes quickly.

"Ask me how I feel about Canadian tariffs!"

Lafleur is the president of Les Boisés Lafleur, in Victoriaville, Que., 140 kilometres northeast of Montreal. The company makes wood veneers: thin sheets of a wide variety of species — maple, ash, eucalyptus — that are then applied to plywood used for countertops and furniture.

When talk of U.S. tariffs began shortly after the presidential inauguration last January, Lafleur started losing sleep. He exports three-quarters of his finished product to the U.S. and was dreading duties.

At first, his American clients, who were convinced tariffs wouldn't stay in place long, said they'd pay a little more to help absorb the hit.

The U.S. tariffs on his exports haven't materialized, but in February, before he left office, Justin Trudeau announced a counter-tariff on $30 billion worth of goods entering Canada from the U.S. — including the category of wood Lafleur uses for his veneers.

He imports all of his wood from the U.S., and he's been paying a 25 per cent duty on those imports since March 4.

"My clients are saying, 'now you're complaining because your government [adds] a tariff?' We look a little stupid," Lafleur says.

LISTEN | Pain from counter-tariffs: 

Quebec AM12:51Quebec manufacturers feeling pain from Canadian counter-tariffs

When Canada didn't appear on the list of countries being slammed by U.S. 'reciprocal' tariffs, the consensus was we'd dodged a bullet. But there are business owners in Quebec who still feel like they're in the line of fire ... from their OWN government. Community Reporter Susan Campbell has the story of one manufacturer who says Canadian counter-tariffs could have devastating effects on his business. 

'Band-Aid on a broken bone'

Lafleur says he should be eligible for a duty drawback — a reimbursement for at least part of the money he's spending on counter-tariffs. But information isn't easy to find. He doesn't know how much he can count on or how long a request would take to process. In the meantime, he's playing it safe.

Les Boisés Lafleur would normally import six and a half truckloads of wood a month. Lafleur has only bought three since February.

"If I buy the wood and I don't get the money back, I'm going to lose a tremendous amount of money," he says.

Fewer wood deliveries will mean reduced production for Lafleur's company. He has started reducing the workforce by a varying number of workers each week, typically between three and six.

Lafleur applied for help under a federal program put in place in early March to help companies to keep their staff, by allowing employees to share work and qualify for EI. But he calls that "a Band-Aid on a broken bone." He doesn't see the logic in making Canadian companies pay a price in this trade war.

"When the Trump administration said we're going to put a tariff, everyone agreed that it would be very, very bad for them. And our reaction to that? To do the same!" he hammers.

Lafleur thinks the laying of counter-tariffs is more about a political show than about what's good for business.

A manufacturing economy on the edge

The mayor of Victoriaville, Antoine Tardif, is president of the regional economic development council, Destination Entreprise.

He says the local economy has been booming since the COVID-19 pandemic. But since the beginning of the tariff war, government agencies that fund local projects, like the Development Bank of Canada and Investissement Québec, are taking a step back.

"They have a lot of projects on hold because of the uncertainty this creates," Tardif says. "The investments aren't going on and for the city, the revenues won't be coming in."

Tariffs have been top of mind since the beginning of the current federal election campaign, and the leaders of Canada's major political parties have maintained a common front on the necessity of counter-tariffs as a response to the American administration.

• This Sunday, Cross Country Checkup is asking: Market turmoil, tariffs and a possible recession — What do you stand to lose? What questions do you have about surviving it? Leave your comment here and we may read it or call you back for our show on April 13th.

But businessmen like Lafleur are not alone in questioning the government response. Speaking to CBC Quebec, Concordia economist Moshe Lander underlined how this trade war is playing out during a federal election campaign.

"You need to be constantly going in front of a microphone and expressing your outrage, expressing your frustration and to be seen to be doing something," Lander says.

"And this idea of 'let's retaliate back on them' is unfortunately the best political thing to do, but it's not good economics."

Economic worries top of mind for voters

Conversations with voters in the Richmond—Arthabaska riding, where Boisés Lafleur operates, suggest economic matters are top of mind.

On a break from his job at a local grocery store, Maxime Gagnon says it's taxes and the cost of living that he's thinking about — and he's made a choice.

"Pierre Poilievre seems more accurate when he talks about finances," Gagnon said of the Conservative Party leader.

Jean-Yves Houle says he'll vote for the federal leader who's speaking to his concerns.

"It's poverty. We need to find a way to make people's lives easier," Houle says.

The riding is currently represented by Independent MP Alain Rayes, who left the Conservative Party in 2022.

Lafleur, for his part, isn't willing to wait until election day to see how parties respond to his company's current situation. He's laying the responsibility at the feet of the sitting government.

"We have Mark Carney, who's a non-elected prime minister and he's running to be an elected prime minister," Lafleur says.

''If by April 28 there's still a 25 per cent tariff, I know damn well who I won't vote for."