A Quebec manufacturer says U.S. President Donald Trump’s move to exclude Canadian suppliers from a major government purchasing program could hurt its U.S. sales and eventually have repercussions for jobs, production and investment in the province.
Montmagny-based Montel, which manufactures high-density storage systems, said business through the U.S. General Services Administration and related state-government contracts has represented between five and 20 per cent of its annual revenue over roughly the past 25 years, depending on the year.
“If this exclusion becomes official, it will indeed have an impact on Montel’s sales in the United States,” company president Jérôme Doucet told The Gazette.
“Such a measure could therefore have repercussions on our future sales and, indirectly, on our suppliers, production, jobs and investment in Quebec,” he said. “It is still too early, however, to precisely measure the extent.”
Trump announced Tuesday that he had directed the GSA to begin removing Canadian-origin products from its purchasing schedules, writing in a social media post that Canadian companies would have “NO ACCESS” to U.S. government procurement markets unless Canada provides what he called reciprocal access to American businesses.
The GSA program allows U.S. federal agencies to buy goods and services from pre-approved suppliers. Some state and local governments can also make purchases through GSA schedules.
Doucet said Montel is particularly concerned about the potential impact on its network of U.S. distributors.
If those distributors can no longer offer Montel products through government purchasing programs, they may have to turn to American manufacturers, he said. That could weaken existing distribution agreements, give competitors greater access to Montel’s network and make it harder for the company to recruit new U.S. partners.
Montel is reviewing its sales pipeline and order forecasts and checking whether existing contracts or tenders already underway could be affected.
The company recorded about US$448,450 in sales through the GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule program between October 2024 and September 2025, according to data reviewed by The Gazette.
It was one of nine Quebec-based vendors identified in the database during that period.
Together, those companies recorded about US$9.3 million in sales through the program, roughly 16 per cent of the US$57.3 million recorded by Canadian vendors.
St-Jérôme-based Foliot Furniture had the largest amount among the Quebec companies, with about US$5.36 million in sales, followed by St-Laurent-based Genetec at about US$1.72 million and Montreal-based Tecsys at about US$1.51 million.
Doucet said Montel is also trying to diversify internationally. The company is taking part in a trade show in Riyadh this week with a new distributor for the region.
I’m a reporter at the Montreal Gazette, covering breaking news and the issues affecting communities across Montreal. I believe some of the most interesting stories begin with an ordinary conversation.
amclaughlin@postmedia.com
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