Decline in immigration: local companies plan to invest in the United States

Quebec companies plan to invest in the United States rather than in Quebec due to new measures from the federal government which limit the number of temporary foreign workers.

Since September, these work permits can no longer be renewed or requested if foreign labor already represents 10% of low-wage employees within a company.

This new reality is a disaster for Beauce, is indignant the president of Rotobec, Julien Veilleux. It is currently hiring 79 temporary foreign workers and will not be able to keep them all.

This pushes him to review his plans for the next few years. I have no choice but to make another investment abroadhe laments.

The handling equipment manufacturing company has its head office in Sainte-Justine. She anticipated a growth phase which would require around a hundred new employees in Beauce in 2026.

However, these hires will have to be made at the same time when the company will be obliged to let go of around forty employees recruited abroad. She will not be able to renew their work permits under Canada’s new requirements.

According to Julien Veilleux, hiring 140 employees in a region with an unemployment rate of 2.5% without resorting to immigration will be almost impossible. For comparison, an unemployment rate of around 5% is considered a situation of full employment in Quebec.

We refuse to let ourselves be defeated by a government, then say “now that we can no longer hire foreign workers, we are going to minimize our turnover”. No, that’s not our style. We are just going to build a third factory in the United States.

Rotobec already has two plants in New Hampshire, one of which is designed to easily accommodate expansion. The president of the company claims to be in talks with this state to obtain permits and plans for this construction.

Does Quebec lose 15 to 20 million [d’investissements] next year, no. Will Quebec lose 15 to 20 million within three years? Yeshe summarizes.

A scenario that repeats itself

Robobec is not alone, other companies with a base in the United States or elsewhere in the world also plan to invest abroad rather than in Quebec, warns Marie-Christine Lavoie, the general director of the Nouvelle-Beauce Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

It’s less money in the economy, so in the end everyone losesshe laments. According to her, the new immigration measures are hampering the development of businesses in the region.

If we lose all our businesses, if we lose our expertise, everything goes to the other side [de la frontière]we are going to have a viability problem for all businesses. The entire Quebec economy will suffer a loss.

Some companies expect to have to shut down production lines, cancel shifts, or close branches due to lack of workers under the new regulations, she explains.

The chamber of commerce, regional elected officials and businesses are imploring the Canadian government to adjust restrictions on temporary foreign workers according to the economic realities of each region.

Is there an immigration problem in Canada? Maybe. Is there a problem in big cities? Probably. Is there a problem in the Beauce region? Nodenounces Julien Veilleux.

A decline in the population

The MRC des Etchemins hoped to increase from a population of 17,000 to 20,000 people over the next few years, explains prefect Camil Turmel. Now he expects a drop in population due to the restrictions.

The prefect also emphasizes that it is not only the companies with which temporary foreign workers have work permits that will suffer employee losses. Often, the spouse, when accompanied, goes to work in other businesses in the municipality, and in the MRChe indicates.

Camil Turmel regrets the impact human new measures. These people invest a lot in our communities, they get involved, they are integratedhe maintains.

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The director of human resources at Rotobec, Cathy Roberge, hopes that around ten workers will be able to pass French tests and receive their Quebec selection certificate (CSQ) before they have to renew their work permit under the Program temporary foreign workers. They could thus stay in Quebec while waiting to become permanent residents.

It’s sadconsiders Cathy Roberge. After participating in recruitment missions abroad, she knows that many workers seek security by coming to Canada. Here our biggest issue is the government which is destabilizing the security that we could give to our workers.she emphasizes.