Great concern has arisen in Quebec’s economic sectors, particularly aeronautics, since the announcement of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
• Also read: François Legault predicts economic turbulence
Prime Minister François Legault said Wednesday that Trump’s election would cause economic turbulence in Quebec. He was also worried about jobs “in key sectors where Quebec has a lot of exports to the United States,” he said.
In 2023, Quebec’s aeronautical sector had sales of nearly $21 billion with just over 41,000 jobs, according to the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy. Moreover, Quebec exports for the aeronautics industry ranked first with a total of 13.5% in Quebec.
In interview on the show The Quebec morningthe director of the International Observatory of Aeronautics and Civil Aviation, Mehran Ebrahimi, shares Mr. Legault’s concerns about Trump’s return to the head of the United States.
“It’s a big sector. You should know that $21 billion is our primary source of industrial revenue here in Quebec and 85% of this amount is exports,” explains Mr. Ebrahimi.
If there were to be a disruption in exports to the United States, the impacts would be great. “The sector will be affected, there is concern,” he adds.
The director also notes that the aeronautics sector in terms of exports “is not so simple”, unlike aluminum or wood. Parts for planes have to cross the border back and forth several times.
“If there are measures like that, we will then be penalized several times in these exchanges,” he specifies.
On the other hand, if Donald Trump decides to tax the components of these sectors, the cost of producing devices will increase at the same time in the United States.
“The fact of increasing the cost of production there will mean that they will think, they will establish rules or exceptions so that it does not affect all the parts,” he comments.
Jobs in the aeronautics sector will be affected, according to Mr. Ebrahimi. “There will be turbulence,” he says. We will see how the words and promises of [Trump] will be reflected in everyday life.”
See the full interview above.
