Nearly $120 million to make Québec a leader in sustainable mobility and smart transportation

2018-2023 action plan for the road transport and sustainable mobility industry

Montréal, May 30, 2018 – Today, the Government of Québec unveiled its 2018-2023 action plan for the road transport and sustainable mobility industry, Transporter le Québec vers la modernité, which has been allotted funding of $118 million over five years. This plan will help make Québec’s road transport equipment industry known for its innovative solutions in sustainable mobility and smart transportation, bolstered by the competitive companies and creative workforce that contribute to Québec’s economic prosperity.

Dominique Anglade, Deputy Premier, Minister of Economy, Science and Innovation and Minister responsible for the Digital Strategy, took part in the announcement.

Through 24 concrete measures, this action plan aims to reach four ambitious, exciting targets:

• To generate investments of $500 million from the road transport equipment industry within five years;
• To reach $4.6 billion in exports in 2023;
• To ensure that 90% of companies innovate in at least one way by 2023;
• To make Québec known for innovation and sustainable mobility demonstration in North America.

Moreover, these measures meet four objectives that will increase the industry’s competitiveness and enhance its creativity, leading to greater commercial success.

• To support projects and invest in the workforce
  • $40.4 million will be earmarked for improving supply chains, introducing SMEs to automation and investing in the workforce.
• To increase companies’ presence on markets outside of Québec
  • $10.1 million will serve to stimulate exports, particularly through the promotion of Québec suppliers abroad and through the establishment of a portal for sustainable mobility information and resources. It will also serve to help companies adapt to foreign regulations.
• To strengthen research and innovation
  • $54.3 million will be invested to support the creation and commercialization of new products, processes and applications and promote the implementation of mobilizing projects in the field of smart transportation.
• Making Québec a leader in demonstrations
  • $9.1 million will serve to create an environment for demonstration projects thanks, in particular, to the creation of the City Mobility project.

Lastly, the government will spend $4 million over the next five years to support the priority projects identified by the various working groups of Propulsion Québec, the industrial cluster for electric and smart transportation.

Quotes:

Thanks to the expertise of its visionary companies, whose ability to innovate is recognized throughout the world, Québec has the potential to become a real hub of sustainable mobility and smart transportation. Through this action plan, we are also providing our companies, and the entire road transport equipment industry, with a catalyst to stimulate innovation and accelerate Québec’s adoption of sustainable mobility, which will shape our future society.

– Dominique Anglade, Deputy Premier, Minister of Economy, Science and Innovation and Minister responsible for the Digital Strategy

Our government’s desire to modernize Québec by combining innovation with sustainable development is made tangible by this important action plan, which will promote the growth of companies in Québec’s road transport equipment industry. Combined with the initiatives proposed in the 2030 sustainable mobility policy, the measures established will contribute to making Québec stand out even more as a key player in the mobility of tomorrow, which will be safe, sustainable and connected.

– André Fortin, Minister of Transport, Sustainable Mobility and Transport Electrification

Québec is focussing heavily on sustainable mobility to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and ensure its transition towards a world with a smaller carbon footprint. As such, the action plan announced today will offer effective resources to help industry players develop more solutions based on the mobility of tomorrow. With this plan and the mobilization of this key sector of our economy, we are taking one more step in the collective fight against climate change.

– Isabelle Melançon, Minister of Sustainable Development, the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change

We could not have developed our all-electric midi/minibus without the mobilizing project for transport electrification, established by the Government of Québec in collaboration with our partners TM4, Solution Adetel and AddÉnergie Technologies. After eight years of research and development, we are proud to say that we are the only original equipment manufacturer in our industry in North America that is entirely integrated into the innovation chain of the transport electrification industry.

– Marc Bédard, President and Found of Lion

Key points:

• In Québec, the road transport equipment industry is made up of 620 companies that generate nearly 32,000 jobs and annual sales of $10.2 billion.  Moreover, this industry generates $3.8 billion in annual exports outside of Québec.
• The measures introduced in this action plan are part of the 2030 sustainable mobility policy, which the Government of Québec announced last April. This policy, which addresses the transportation of both people and freight, responds to the mobility needs of individuals and companies looking forward as far as 2030.
• Today, The Lion Electric Company announced the completion of an important mobilizing project for the design and manufacture of all-electric buses for paratransit. This is the first of four prototype vehicles that will be assembled as part of the mobilizing project for the development of innovative all-electric heavy vehicles, for which the Government of Québec granted financial assistance of $8.6 million from the Fonds vert in 2016.