Recalling the protectionist threats of American presidential candidate Donald Trump, the president of Investissement Québec International strongly called on Quebec exporters on Friday to free themselves from their dependence on our southern neighbors.
“For exporting companies, the American presence acts a bit like a drug,” said Hubert Bolduc during an event organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM) on the subject of the 2024-2025 economic outlook. “It’s done in a relatively easy framework, in English, you cross the border. The problem with drugs is that later, things go less well and you become dependent.”
The Republican presidential candidate says he wants to raise tariffs on products made outside the United States, suggesting tariffs of 10 percent or more.
“It could start to harm our productivity,” said Mr. Bolduc, noting that more than 70% of Quebec exports go to the United States.
Quebec entrepreneurs would also not be immune to measures taken by a possible Kamala Harris presidency. “It was the Democrats who made the decision on the Inflation Reduction Act, which greatly favours American companies,” stressed Michel Leblanc, president and CEO of the CCMM, who led the discussion.
“I dare to hope that the next American election will make our Quebec entrepreneurs realize things,” Mr. Bolduc also said.
The latter wants to encourage companies to diversify. He believes that many countries, particularly in Europe but also in Africa, offer exceptional potential.
“We have not done enough education on the advantages of the European market, on the capacities of companies to make their place on this market. We will have to make additional efforts to reverse the trend,” the manager judged.
France, because of the common language, could be a good starting point for Quebecers, he believes. However, this market was the destination of only 1.5% of our exports in the last quarter of 2024. Quebec’s trade balance with this country is largely negative, which means that the French sell us a greater value of goods than we sell to them.
“We are the only G7 member country to have a trade agreement with all the other members (in addition to the WTO agreements). We must take advantage of it,” said Mr. Bolduc.
“Not just Northvolt”
Furthermore, the president of Investissement Québec International, which has the dual mission of supporting Quebec exporters and assisting foreign investors, stated that the development of the battery sector is doing well in the province.
“We need to stop saying that things are going badly. In 2019, the Bécancour industrial park was almost empty. Today, we are playing Tetris to place companies that want to set up there. We need to look at the whole picture, from the mines to the transformation of metals,” argued Mr. Bolduc, naming Nemaska Lithium, Nouveau Monde Graphite, GM-POSCO, Ford EcoPro and Volta. He invited the public to go and visit Bécancour to see the progress of construction.
He stressed that this sector is much larger than Northvolt, whose highly publicized factory project in Montérégie could be delivered with a delay of 12 to 18 months.
“In general, projects are moving forward,” Bolduc said. “Perhaps less quickly than expected, but they are moving forward nonetheless.”