Investissement Québec () is a company established in 1998 under an act passed by the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

to favour investment in Quebec by Quebec-based and international companies. Its registered office is located in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

. In December 2010 it took over the Société générale de financement. Investissement Québec initially held a 19% stake in the

Airbus A220 The Airbus A220 is a family of five-abreast narrow-body airliners by Airbus Canada Limited Partnership (ACLP). It was originally developed by Bombardier Aviation and had two years in service as the Bombardier CSeries. The program was launche ...

(formerly Bombardier CSeries) programme. This was increased to 25% in February 2020, at no cash cost to Investissement Québec, as part of a deal that saw Bombardier sell its share to

Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...

Société générale de financement

The Société générale de financement (SGF) was a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

owned by the

Government of Quebec The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to refer to the executive of the day (i.e. Minister of the Crown, mini ...

. Its mission was to attract investment to

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

by investing in other companies. Another mission was to promote new small businesses. In December 2010, Bill 123 that planned the merger of the SGF into Investissement Québec received royal assent. The SGF ceased activities on 31 March 2011.

Investments

Airbus Canada

In July 2016, Investissement Québec took a stake in C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership (CSALP), a joint venture with Bombardier Aerospace to develop its CSeries aircraft. In October 2017, Airbus and Bombardier announced that Airbus would acquire a 50.01% majority stake in CSALP, with Bombardier keeping 31% and Investissement Québec 19%. This deal closed in July 2018, and the aircraft was rebranded as the

. Bombardier exited the A220 programme in February 2020, selling its share to Airbus; Investissement Québec kept a 25% share. In February 2022, a further $1.2b investment in Airbus Canada was agreed ($900m from Airbus, $300m from Investissement Québec) to support an acceleration of the A220's production rate.

Flying Whales

In 2019, Investissement Québec acquired a stake in Flying Whales, a start-up specializing in the construction and operation of rigid-structure airships. The state-owned company holds 24.99% of Flying Whales SAS, which corresponds to 15 million euros. An additional 5 million euros are planned for the Canadian subsidiary, bringing the total investment to 30 million Canadian dollars (20 million euros). Future aerostats are intended for transporting heavy or indivisible loads and could serve the northern regions of Quebec. In Ottawa in July 2020, the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Industry has not yet given its operating authorization to the Quebec subsidiary. The investment in the start-up, arouses controversy. The usual examination procedure seems to be lengthening. The federal government (Ottawa) would wonder about the risk of industrial espionage or the loss of intellectual property due to the presence of the "Chinese state-owned company AVIC" in the shareholding of Flying Whales SAS (with 24.99%). However, this only concerns the Quebec subsidiary (the 5 million euros).

References

External links

* {{authority control Financial services companies established in 1998 Investment companies of Canada Companies based in Quebec