Good question. One of the goals of the Canadian beekeeping industry and the Canadian Honey Council, in Quebec and all provinces, is to move toward self-sufficiency, which is currently inconceivable.
For example, if 20% of the bees have died by May, to compensate for the losses, bees must be purchased from places abroad, such as California, Chile, New Zealand and Australia. Queens are imported to replace the deceased queens, and 1.5-kg packages of bees are imported. At this time, the packages are mainly from New Zealand.
That's how beekeepers quickly rebuild colonies. Then, in June and July, beekeepers can increase the number of bees when the colonies become stronger. They can create splits, which are called “nucs”. That way, they can increase the swarms. I can tell you that things are moving these days, because bees are needed.