Canadians firms urged to ‘think very carefully’ before shifting operations to U.S.
The threat of widespread U.S. tariffs is forcing some Canadian companies with operations on both sides of the border to contemplate a difficult question: whether to shift production or relocate to the U.S. at a time when patriotic fervour is surging at home.
Last week, Montreal-based TFI International Inc. came under scrutiny after announcing it planned to change its legal domicile to the U.S. The trucking and logistics firm cited its larger American shareholder base and the fact that 70 per cent of its operations are now south of the border, but the proposal drew the ire of the Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, one of it’s biggest shareholders.
“We will express our dissatisfaction,” CDPQ spokesperson Kate Monfette said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg News. “Quebec’s interests are always at the heart of our priorities as a shareholder.”
On a Thursday conference call with analysts, TFI chief executive Alain Bedard defended the plan, which still requires shareholder approval, arguing operations would be “business as usual” in the event of a shift.
“We’re not moving people from Canada to the U.S. We’re not doing that. We’re not stupid,” he said.
While TFI is retaining its headquarters in Canada and isn’t planning on relocating staff or offices, Richard Powers, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and the national academic director of the Directors Education Program, said in an email that if trucking contracts continue to decline in Canada, he could see an argument to support a bigger move.
“This is just one company, but it does demonstrate the frustration and disruption that is currently going on,” said Powers. “I suspect many firms are doing the numbers and trying to determine
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