The Liberal government鈥檚 move to order the shutdown of TikTok鈥檚 Canadian operations over national security concerns has left hundreds of the company鈥檚 Canadian employees in limbo.

Ottawa hasn鈥檛 publicly specified the date by which TikTok has to comply, and while the company has pledged to fight the order in court, it鈥檚 also talking to the government in hopes of finding a 鈥渟olution.鈥�

On Nov. 6, the federal government announced it ordered the dissolution of TikTok鈥檚 Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform. That means TikTok must 鈥渨ind down鈥� its operations in Canada, though the app will continue to be available to Canadians.

When the government made the announcement, Erin Lowers was at take-your-kid-to-work day, doing a sneaker-painting activity with her niece. TikTok arranged interviews with her and several of the other affected employees for The Canadian Press.

The company was hosting teens that day, telling them 鈥渆verything about how lovely our work is, how much we love to do what we do, how we got into our positions,鈥� recalled Lowers, the music lead for the company鈥檚 global public policy and product team.

鈥淵ou have to put on a brave face,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 sit there and tell my niece the reality of what could happen.鈥�

Vanessa Gaik, executive director of brand partnerships, said people are afraid of losing their jobs ahead of the holidays.

There are 鈥渁 lot of folks that are trying to power through, that have a really good attitude. But right now, I think the silence and not having any answers has been really troubling for a lot of the people on the team.鈥�

Neil Cameron, TikTok鈥檚 head of Canadian agency partnerships, said the energy in the office changes 鈥渄ay by day.鈥�

鈥淧eople are really trying to put on a brave face, but it鈥檚 really hard when you鈥檙e faced with such uncertainty.鈥�

Steve de Eyre, the company鈥檚 director of public policy and government affairs, is getting down to business as usual 鈥� which includes lobbying the same federal government that has ordered the company to shut down.

He said his work includes 鈥渕aking sure that government agencies, members of Parliament, regulators, understand what the impact of this order would be.鈥�

TikTok Canada is hoping to find a 鈥渟olution鈥� to the situation, de Eyre said.

鈥淲e continue and will continue to reiterate to the government our desire to find a solution that is in the best interests of Canadians.鈥�

The government seems unconvinced. A spokesperson for Industry Minister Fran莽ois-Philippe Champagne said the government鈥檚 decision is final, and there is no other possibility.

The review that banned the company鈥檚 Canadian operation was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to harm national security.

Champagne said in a statement on Nov. 6 the decision was the result of a 鈥渕ulti-step national security review process, which involves rigorous scrutiny by Canada鈥檚 national security and intelligence community.鈥�

It said the government was taking action to address 鈥渟pecific national security risks,鈥� though it didn鈥檛 specify what those risks are. Champagne has said the Investment Canada Act doesn鈥檛 allow him to disclose details of the review.

Privacy and safety concerns have swirled around TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance Ltd. because of Chinese national security laws that compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.

In the United States, those concerns could lead to the app itself being banned in the new year.

Last week, a U.S court ruled that a law that requires ByteDance to divest its stakes in TikTok or face a ban is constitutional. On Monday, TikTok asked the court to bar the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden from enforcing the law. It argues if the law is not overturned, the app will shut down by Jan. 19, 2025, affecting more than 170 million American users.

While the app would remain available to Canadian users, one argument against closing down the Canadian offices is that doing so would make it more difficult for the government to regulate TikTok.

De Eyre said the company has been engaged around various legislation 鈥� getting involved in the process of passing and implementing the Online Streaming Act, for example, and partnering with Elections Canada in the last federal election to provide information about voting.

He notes his team, too, is Canadian. 鈥淲e鈥檝e all worked in government. We all love this country. We understand the political system,鈥� he said.

鈥淲e think it鈥檚 in everyone鈥檚 best interest for there to be employees in Canada that are operating under Canadian law, that are paying Canadian taxes, and are providing localization to the platform.鈥�

The prospect of the TikTok offices shuttering has those employees weighing what鈥檚 next.

Cameron said a potential ban would have a huge personal and professional impact, given there are maybe one or two similar roles in Canada. 鈥淚鈥檝e really worked hard for 27 years in this industry to earn this role.鈥�

Similarly, Lowers said it would be very difficult for her to find another comparable job in Canada.

鈥淚 might have to leave the country.鈥�