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OTTAWA — Quebec’s aluminum sector should be in line to receive “hundreds of millions of dollars” from a $5-billion fund to help sectors slammed by U.S. tariffs, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said Monday.
Canadian aluminum and steel exports currently face 50 per cent U.S. tariffs. Nearly all of Canada’s aluminum is produced in Quebec.
At a press conference in Montreal, Joly said the federal government hasn’t determined yet exactly how the tariff support fund will be divided.
“The Quebec aluminum sector will get its fair share,” she said. “And we believe that with the projects that are being discussed right now with Alcoa, with Rio Tinto and with Alouette, it’s hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Jean Simard, president of the Aluminum Association of Canada, joined Joly at the press conference and said that tariff relief is about ensuring the sector remains competitive on the world stage.
While Canada does have aluminum markets in Europe and Asia, the vast majority of the metal produced here is exported to the U.S., Simard said.
“We produced 3.3 million tonnes of metal in 2024, which is our biggest year ever. We exported 90 per cent of that, and 90 per cent of that 90 per cent was going to the U.S.,” he said.
Simard said that aluminum producers shipped more product to Europe over the summer because they were losing money on exports to the U.S.
He said that while the Canadian aluminum sector is eyeing future growth in European and Asian markets, it can’t fully cut ties with the U.S. market.
Simard said that if Canadian producers were to stop shipments to the U.S., other companies would take their place.
“As the price builds up into the U.S., you can expect metal to come back to the U.S. market,” he said.
Joly and Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the $5-billion fund on Friday as part of a suite of tariff relief measures that also includes a “Buy Canadian” policy for the federal government and another $1 billion aimed at helping small and medium-sized businesses.
On Monday, Carney was in St. John’s to announce that $80 million of the funding set aside for small and medium businesses over the next three years will be allocated to Atlantic Canada.
Carney said the concentration of some industries in particular parts of the country means the trade war is leading to different regional impacts. He said industries and businesses that are not directly affected by the tariffs are still seeing its effects through the shifting nature of global trade.
“We’re also conscious of the knock-on effects of those tariffs. So we don’t want to overly concentrate just on the strategic sectors,” he said.
Carney also said the Liberal government’s focus on “reducing waste, reducing unnecessary federal spending, reducing duplication in federal spending, becoming more efficient in federal spending” will give it the fiscal capacity to invest in businesses.
The Carney government is expected to release its first federal budget this fall.
Federal ministers fanned out across the country Monday to make similar announcements about the fund, known as the regional tariff response initiative, which is being administered through the regional economic development agencies.
The fund also includes $150 million in targeted support for businesses in the steel industry, announced back in July.
— With files from Sarah Ritchie in Ottawa and Sarah Smellie in St. John’s
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2025.
David Baxter, The Canadian Press
