Pierre Ferron never anticipated working in the linen, uniform and facility services business full-time, let alone serving as a point person for a private-sector laundry pushing back against encroachment on hospital laundry contracts by one of Canada’s regional governments. But 41 years after he began working in Buanderie Blanchelle Inc., a Montreal launderer co-founded in 1977 by his father, Ferron is now comfortable in the leadership role.

“I’m very patient,” says Ferron, who oversees two plants, north and south of the St. Lawrence River, which bisects Montreal, located in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec. “I’m in this business by ...