MONTREAL – Glencore Canada has suspended a $300 million investment tied to emissions reductions at its Horne Smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., saying it had not received regulatory certainty to proceed.
The decision raises questions about the future of the smelter in northwestern Quebec as well as its refinery in Montreal, as without the investments, the smelter would not comply with provincial environment standards as of March 2027.
Glencore Canada wanted to obtain certain guarantees from the Quebec government regarding its environmental obligations before making the investment. The facilities employ about 1,000 people.
The company said in a statement on Tuesday that despite sustained negotiations, the conditions aren’t in place to allow it to proceed.
“Protecting jobs and maintaining operations remain the company’s top priorities, but the conditions needed to move forward simply are not in place right now,” said Marc Bédard, chief operating officer of custom metallurgical assets at Glencore.
Glencore Canada said it was ready to invest nearly $1 billion over five years, including the $300 million for emissions reductions. But the company said that level of investment “would be irresponsible without assurance that the regulatory conditions would allow the smelter to continue operating within a predictable and realistic longer-term framework.”
Talks began in the summer of 2025 and Quebec may still reach an agreement with the company, but the delays would weaken the smelter and refinery, warned the United Steelworkers union, which represents 400 employees at the refinery.
The smelter has come under fire in recent years for arsenic emissions.
It far exceeds the annual standard for arsenic emissions, which is three nanograms ng/m³, but benefits from special agreements with the Quebec government.
Under the most recent ministerial authorization granted by Quebec in 2023, the smelter was required to reach a target of 45 ng/m³ in 2024 and must comply with a target of 15 ng/m³ starting in 2027.
According to company data, the concentration of arsenic emitted into the air in 2024 reached an average of 39.1 ng/m³, down from 73 ng/m³ in 2022.
Last July, Vincent Plante, general manager for Glencore’s copper business in North America, indicated that the company considered the three ng/m³ target “technically impossible” to achieve.
Nicolas Lapierre, Quebec director of the United Steelworkers, said at a limit of 15 ng/m³, the company and the government could have reached a reasonable compromise.
“The 15 nanometres project was a win-win situation for everyone, both for the smelter and for protecting public health,” Lapierre said.
Quebec and Ottawa must intervene to save Glencore’s future, the union representing Horne Smelter employees said Tuesday.
“The Quebec and Canadian governments need to get involved; you can’t just let these jobs disappear,” said Kevin Gagnon, president of the Fédération de l’industrie manufacturière, associated with the CSN labour union.
In a statement, Premier François Legault said his government has the dual objective of protecting jobs and the environment, and said the province had taken “a significant step” by offering to launch the environmental authorization process one year earlier.
“The government now expects the company to make the necessary investments itself, as it will have greater visibility that mitigates the risk it incurs by continuing its efforts to reduce emissions,” Legault’s office said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2026.
— with files from Stéphane Blais in Montreal.
