EUREKA – One of Mike Cuffe’s solutions to the stubbornly high jobless rate in Northwest Montana isn’t actually in Montana. It’s located about eight miles north, across the border, in the oil fields and lumber mills of Canada.
Cuffe, 67, is spearheading an effort to let Montanans work in Canada, where there is currently a shortage of workers in some industries. In early 2013, a British Columbia coalmine made headlines when it announced it would be importing 200 workers from China to fill jobs. Cuffe thinks those jobs can be filled with Americans and, specifically, Montanans.
“People would live here, maintain their homes here, and have their kids go to school here,” he said, “if they bring a good paycheck home. They’ll set up a shop, build a new house and eventually that will stimulate the local economy.”
The Eureka Republican was elected to the Montana House of Representatives in 2010 and has grown in stature since then, serving as majority whip during the 2013 session.
In November, Cuffe organized a job symposium in Eureka titled “Work In Canada But Live In Montana” to rally support to roll back regulations and barriers for Americans trying to find work north of the border. He also proposes flying a plane to and from Eureka every week so that area workers could commute to jobs in the oil fields and coalmines of northern British Columbia, including the areas were mines were importing workers from China.
Cuffe also noted the Canfor Corporation lumber mill just north of the border and Teck Mining near Sparwood, both of which have expressed interest in hiring Americans during the symposium. Canadian government officials and representatives from the U.S. Embassy also attended.
Cuffe has worked on the project with the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, a nonprofit organization focusing on economic issues in the Pacific Northwest and western Canada. One of the biggest barriers is regulation of foreign workers in Canada, but also Americans unfamiliar with navigating the system, Cuffe said. He proposed establishing Lincoln County as a “work free zone” that would make it easier for locals to cross the border for work. He said the designation is attainable since Lincoln County is a sparsely populated area that wouldn’t flood the Canadian job market. The population was just over 19,000 in 2010, slightly below that of Kalispell, and the unemployment rate is at 13.5 percent, the highest in the state.
“If we can get a few people through the process, the process will get easier,” he said.
Cuffe has deep family roots in Lincoln County. His great uncle came to the area in the late 1870s. Cuffe was born in Eureka in 1947 and got his first job at the Tobacco Valley News when he was a teenager. In the 1960s he attended the University of Montana and later became editor of the Western News in Libby. In that role, Cuffe covered Montana Congressman Richard Shoup on a visit to Libby and the two men stayed in touch. When Shoup’s press secretary had to leave his post in the winter of 1973, Cuffe took a temporary assignment in Washington, D.C. Shoup encouraged Cuffe to stay longer, but he and his family were drawn back to Montana.
“When he realized I was going home (to Lincoln County) he started talking to me about getting active and running for state office,” Cuffe recalled. “He’s the one who planted the seed.”
After a successful career in the timber industry and publishing, Cuffe decided to run for office in 2010. Following the election he sold his business so he could focus on the Legislature. Speaker of the House Mark Blasdel said Cuffe’s dedication was obvious from the start, which is why he was able to rise through the ranks and become majority whip. As whip, Cuffe helps organize legislators and counts votes for the House leadership.
“He cares deeply about the people he represents and he shares that passion with everyone,” Blasdel said.
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Rep. Mike Cuffe shows off his 1931 Ford Model-A at his Eureka home. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon |
That passion has largely focused on rejuvenating Lincoln County’s economy. Cuffe has also been focused on the Columbia River Treaty. The treaty is a 1964 agreement between Canada and the United States that established the Libby Dam and three dams in British Columbia. In 2024 the treaty can be terminated or changed with at least 10 years notice. Over the past few years, groups on both sides of the border have been reevaluating the treaty.
When the Libby Dam was built nearly 10 percent of Lincoln County’s taxable land was trapped underwater, according to Cuffe. He believes that other communities have benefited from the dams – including by receiving inexpensive energy and flood control – while Lincoln County paid the price. A major factor in the treaty’s creation was the 1948 flood that destroyed Vanport City, Ore.
“We gave up a lot. People were torn out of their homes and had their land taken, it disappeared under water,” he said.
Cuffe is encouraging the Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to establish a community trust similar to what B.C. Hydro has done by taking energy profits from the dams and putting it toward town projects in southeastern British Columbia.
Cuffe also wants changes in federal regulations that would ease restrictions on timber harvesting.
While Cuffe said he is happy in the Legislature, many people, including Lincoln County Commissioner Mike Coke said the lawmaker has the energy to seek higher office.
“Would I like to be Speaker of the House? Well sure, it’d be fun to be the top dog, but I like what I’m doing now,” Cuffe said. “Had I started 10 years earlier, maybe I’d take a shot at something bigger.”