Last month, two Quebec furniture manufacturers shut their doors, throwing nearly 300 workers out of work. Their workers, some with 45 years on the job, have been swept aside by a globalized market they have no control over.
On April 27, South Shore Furniture halted operations in Sainte-Croix and Coaticook after 86 years. The next day, Bestar declared bankruptcy in Lac-Mégantic, 75 years after it was founded.
South Shore employed about 100 people across its two plants. Bestar had 175 employees, most of them in Lac-Mégantic. Its Sherbrooke plant had already been idle for several weeks, and Bestar workers had been on work-sharing for nine months. Both companies say they had to close because of foreign dumping, which drove prices down and squeezed their margins.
“We knew things weren’t going well. The announcement hurts,” said Nancy Robert, president of the Bestar union. On Facebook, Sylvie Campeau, who says she worked at Bestar for nearly 30 years, wrote that it is “very difficult.” Jean-Luc Hallee, who spent 16 years there, wished his former co-workers “good luck”—workers who were never asked for their input.
Bestar’s management said it considered several options before shutting down, including restructuring and a sale, but did not involve workers in the process. The final decision was delivered verbally on a Sunday night.
The impact goes beyond job losses. Daniel Cloutier, Quebec director of Unifor, said “every closure of a historic manufacturing company is a hard blow to our communities.” Sainte-Croix is losing its last major industrial employer and recently lost its only grocery store. “When you lose your grocery store and your local employer back to back, it’s brutal,” one Reddit user wrote.
The two closures come as Duchesne et Fils, another regional manufacturer, faces an imminent liquidation. Tafisa, a wood panel supplier based in Lac-Mégantic since 1992 in part because of Bestar’s presence, also loses South Shore as a client. Its CEO says no jobs are at risk in the short term. But Unifor “fears repercussions for those jobs” as the company may struggle to move its production.
A ruthless market
When the United States closed its borders to Chinese and Vietnamese furniture, those producers were left with excess supply. They moved inventory elsewhere, quickly and at low prices to avoid a crisis. “We became a dumping ground for that furniture,” said Daniel Cloutier, Quebec director of Unifor. South Shore lost 77% of its sales between 2022 and 2025. In the end, it is the workers who bear the cost of this unchecked competition they have no influence over.
Government response has been minimal. Ottawa has launched an investigation into furniture imports, with findings expected in early 2027, as plants shut down. On Facebook, Lotbinière-Frontenac MNA Isabelle Lecours said she was “saddened” and thanked the Laflamme family for 86 years of service. One resident replied: “What concrete action have you taken, Ms. Lecours?” The question went unanswered.
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