By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
Amid growing economic uncertainty tied to potential U.S. tariffs and criticism of the CAQ’s recent budget, Liberal MNA Désirée McGraw made a full-day visit to the Eastern Townships on Mar. 31 to meet with local companies and community organizations. The tour included stops in Sherbrooke, Bromont, and Granby and focused on the economic challenges facing the region—especially its close ties to American markets.
“We’re seeing serious implications for companies whose markets are primarily in the U.S.,” McGraw told The Record in a phone interview during her tour. “Even before April 2, businesses have had to make tough decisions to reassure American clients they’ll absorb the cost of the 25 per cent tariffs.”
McGraw, the MNA for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and the official opposition’s spokesperson for the Estrie region and social economy, said she tries to visit the Townships once a month. Last week she attended a sugar shack event in Magog; this time, her mission was firmly economic.
Her day began in Sherbrooke with a visit to Groupe Probex, a social enterprise that provides employment opportunities to adults with intellectual disabilities and those no longer supported by the public education or health care systems. McGraw praised the organization’s model of citizen engagement and social inclusion, calling it “a concept that should be exported to other regions, especially at a time when the labour shortage is critical.”
However, she also noted a troubling vulnerability. “Some of the companies Probex partners with are directly impacted by the American tariffs. And what we’re hearing is that when budgets are tight, programs with a social mission like this are the first to be cut,” she said. “That’s where you see not just economic fallout, but a social one too.”
From there, McGraw headed to Sherbrooke’s industrial park to visit Motrec International, a manufacturer of electric industrial vehicles. The company exports approximately 70 per cent of its products to the U.S., making it especially vulnerable to changes in trade policy under the current American administration.
