Laid-off Ubisoft workers rally, call on video game developer to reopen in Halifax

HALIFAX – A crowd of more than 50 Ubisoft workers and supporters braved the cold at a rally Thursday in downtown Halifax, urging the video game developer to reopen the studio that closed earlier this month after a successful union drive.

Camille Hunt, who worked as a junior associate producer at Ubisoft in Halifax until she was laid off along with 70 of her colleagues, said Thursday the timing of the shut down was “very suspicious,” given that it happened about three weeks after most staff members voted to unionize.

“It was announced that we were successful (in forming a union) very, very soon before we were told we were closed,” she said in an interview at the rally.

The Paris-based company — best known for its Assassin’s Creed franchise — said Thursday the move had nothing to do with a union drive that resulted in 60 employees joining the Canadian branch of the Communications Workers of America (CWA). 

The office was Ubisoft’s first to unionize in North America.

Caroline Stelmach, a spokesperson with the company, said in an email Thursday the closure is part of a restructuring and “cost-optimization” process that began two years ago, “well before the unionization process started at the studio.” 

Stelmach said Ubisoft announced last week cost reduction measures equivalent to €200 million, which is the equivalent of about C$323 million, in order to “adapt to changing market conditions.” 

The union announced in June that a majority of Ubisoft Halifax staff had agreed to file for union certification. On Dec. 18, the Nova Scotia Labour Board certified the new local after 74 per cent of the staff voted in favour of the move. On Jan. 7, the Halifax studio was closed.

The company, which employed more than 17,000 people as of September, said earlier this month it had cut more than 1,500 jobs in the previous year. 

Hunt was joined by former co-workers and supporters at the event held in downtown Halifax’s Grand Parade square Thursday morning. She and other workers at the rally are calling on the provincial government to speak up in support of the workers and push for the firm to reopen their Halifax office.

Their union has filed a complaint with the Nova Scotia Labour Board accusing Ubisoft of shutting down the Halifax operation due to the newly certified union.

CWA Canada describes itself as the country’s only all-media union, representing 6,000 workers at the CBC, The Canadian Press, and newspapers, tech, digital media, video gaming and other companies coast to coast.

Jon Hoffman, a former lead programmer at Ubisoft’s Halifax studio, said Thursday the closure has been devastating for the 71 employees there and their families. 

He spoke at the rally, calling on the Nova Scotia government to stand up for the workers and enforce the existing labour laws aimed at preventing union busting. 

“The biggest thing is we just want to make sure everybody’s following the rules, because it really looks like they aren’t,” he told reporters. 

“So the message we have for (labour) minister Young is simply enforce what already exists,” Hoffman said. 

Hoffman said as far as he’s aware, Labour Minister Nolan Young has not been in touch with laid-off Ubisoft workers. “We’d love to have a conversation with Minister Young.” 

Young’s department said in an email its staff has been in touch with the laid off employees to connect them with free employment support. Department spokesperson Laura Todesco said the department cannot comment about the union’s allegations because the complaint is before the Nova Scotia Labour Board. 

One of the calls during Thursday’s rally was for the province to take back the $12 million in subsidies it provided to the video game firm. 

“Since 2017, Ubisoft has earned $12,574,591 through Nova Scotia’s Film and Digital Media Tax Credit. By legislation, these credits are able to be claimed only after qualifying jobs and investments are made, so it is not possible to ‘claw them back,'” Todesco said. 

Ubisoft’s largest production studio is in Montreal, but it also has studios in Toronto, Winnipeg, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Que., and Saguenay, Que. In May 2024, a Ubisoft Quebec manager said the Montreal studio employed about 4,000 people.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2026.