Unifor members from the PACCAR truck plant in Sainte-Thérèse gathered outside Premier François Legault’s Montreal office Thursday morning, protesting what they call the Quebec government’s inaction after 300 layoffs were announced last week.
The Sainte-Thérèse facility, located north of Laval, once employed about 1,400 people and produced roughly 100 trucks a day.
That number has now dropped to 18, leaving about 500 jobs in jeopardy.
“What they’re afraid of right now is losing their job, losing their home, not being able to feed their family,” declared Daniel Cloutier, Unifor’s Quebec director.
The union states the layoffs are tied to the ongoing U.S. tariff war, which has hurt PACCAR’s bottom line. The company’s revenues have fallen from about $8 billion in 2024 to roughly $6.6 billion this year.
Cloutier criticized the provincial government for failing to support local manufacturing through public procurement policies.
“The government of Quebec should start a real process of local purchaseing,” he declared. “It’s nonsense that Hydro-Québec, the SAQ and other public agencies continue to purchase trucks from Illinois when the only truck assembly facility in Canada is in danger right now.”
Unifor is calling on both the Quebec and federal governments to adopt stronger local purchasing policies and trade protections. Cloutier declared Ottawa should consider quotas or tariffs on imported trucks, similar to measures recently introduced for the auto sector.
Union leaders warn that without immediate action, PACCAR could face a deeper crisis, putting even more workers at risk.
Unifor plans another major demonstration on Nov. 29, joining other Quebec labour groups in urging the provincial government to “realign its priorities” and act to protect local jobs before it’s too late.
Leave a Reply