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MONTREAL: When U.S. President Donald Trump levied 50% tariffs on Canadian steel in June last year, a steel factory in Canada\u2019s mostly French-speaking province of Quebec lost about a third of its orders for bolts and fasteners in less than a week.<\/strong><\/p>\n The factory owner \u2013 The Heico \u200bCompanies \u2013 froze hiring, closed a plant in the region and laid off several dozen people, said David Jeannotte, an operations director, whose own brother lost his job. The cuts were part of 140 layoffs by \u200cthe company, mainly in Quebec.<\/span><\/p>\n The factory\u2019s troubles reflect broader anxiety over the fallout from Trump\u2019s trade war in Quebec, which is due to hold a provincial election by October 5. But while some previous economic slowdowns in the province prompted an increase in separatist sentiment, polls show that this time around, support for an independent Quebec is at its lowest level in decades, at about 30%.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs long as Trump will be in his chair, I don\u2019t feel that we even need to talk about that,\u201d Jeannotte said.<\/span><\/p>\n Others in the region are echoing Jeannotte\u2019s concerns, saying the threat Trump poses to Canada means the best way to preserve Quebec\u2019s unique French culture \u200bis to stay within Canada \u2014 at least for now.<\/span><\/p>\n Trump\u2019s threats to make Canada the 51st state and the whiplash from his tariff policy have spurred an outpouring of Canadian patriotism in Quebec, a province that regularly threatens to \u200bbreak away and has had two previous referendums on the issue.<\/span><\/p>\n As the country\u2019s only majority French-speaking province, Quebec has a long-established separatist movement that argues independence from Canada is \u2060the best way to protect its distinct culture and language. Quebec has never formally signed the Canadian Constitution and separatists argue French Canadians are often overlooked by the English-dominated majority.<\/span><\/p>\n The separatist Parti Quebecois currently holds a slim lead in provincial \u200belection polls and a win would mark the party\u2019s return to power after a dozen years. But analysts say a vote for the party would be more about disappointment with the ruling party than an endorsement of the PQ\u2019s independence platform.<\/span><\/p>\n While the PQ \u200bis committed to a third independence referendum if it wins, leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon vowed that won\u2019t happen while Trump is president, a tacit recognition of falling support for independence. Quebec narrowly voted to stay in Canada in a 1995 referendum, spurring a national reckoning that resulted in the federal government asking the Supreme Court to clarify the legal procedure for separation.<\/span><\/p>\n On Tuesday, Plamondon said in a post on X that deciding Quebec\u2019s political fate \u201cmust not be hijacked by the upheaval of American politics, the outbursts of an unpredictable president or by a campaign of fear.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nCAMPAIGN OF FEAR<\/span><\/h2>\n