Small N.B. village deals with crushing economic blow

Small N.B. town deals with huge economic blow McAdam, N.B.’s largest employer is closing down – leaving dozens of employees uncertain of what the future holds. Mike Cameron reports.

MCADAM, N.B. — A small rural Maritime community is coming to terms with a huge economic blow.

The largest employer in the village of McAdam, New Brunswick is closing down, leaving workers and community leaders trying to figure out what’s next.

Truckloads of wallboard are still moving out of the CertainTeed gypsum plant in McAdam, N.B., but not for much longer.

The company is closing permanently, forcing 59 people out of work.

“I know yesterday morning when I first heard about that, I was in shock. I felt sick to my stomach,” says McAdam mayor Ken Stannix.

Stannix says everyone in the village is friends or neighbours with employees at the gypsum plant.

“They’re day-to-day folks just like us. Hard working, dedicated individuals, many of whom spent a lifetime working at this mill, 27 or 28 years,” explains Stannix.

That describes CertainTeed employee Paul Nason.

“It came as a surprise,” says Nason. “Am I totally shocked? No. The market has been declining for a few years, we’ve never really recovered from 2008 when the market collapsed.”

The company blames poor market conditions for the closure, saying in a statement:

“We recognize the impact the plant closure will have on employees, their families and the McAdam community," wrote Dina Pokedoff of CertainTeed Canada Inc.

While the plant is McAdam’s largest employer, the impact will be far-reaching. A lot of the employees live in nearby Harvey, St. Stephen, or other communities in southwest N.B.

Don Doherty owns the local hardware store, the longest continuously operating business in the village. He says the railway used to be the biggest employer. Most of those jobs are long gone, but Doherty says the village is resilient.

“We recovered from numerous other enterprises that came in and failed, so I’m quite sure the community will continue to survive.”

Government officials say they’re looking for other options for the workers, and the community.

“Despite the fact that this is obviously a very sad day for McAdam, there’s a real positive attitude here,” said Trevor Holder, New Brunswick's Minister of Training and Labour. “People want to move forward.”

“They’re going through severance packages and the company is supportive, as supportive as they can be in this situation I guess,” says Nason. “It’s still a shock, you know, at this stage in my life, I’ve got to find another job.”

Community leaders hope another business will consider moving to the site, as the gypsum plant officially stops production on August 28. The plant will be permanently closed by February 28, 2021.