Foreign investments in Quebec melted halfway compared to last year, while businesses are more cautious due to economic uncertainty arising from the threats of the American president, Donald Trump.
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This is at least what emerges from the results of investment activities Quebec International for the year 2024-2025.
In recent months, the Quebec government’s financial arm has recorded a significant drop in the value of investments it attracts in the province by means of prospecting and support activities.
It increased from $ 13.1 billion in 2023-2024, to $ 6.45 billion in 2024-2025, which represents a sudden fall of 50.7%.
In a way, it is a return to normal, after a year when the results had been inflated by the announced projects of the battery sector, even though the outcome of several of them is far from certain. To give an idea, the value of foreign investments in 2022-2023 was around $ 6 billion.
However, everything suggests that the threats of Donald Trump also played a role in this decline, arousing the concern of foreign companies that employ thousands of people in Quebec.
A survey conducted by Montreal International showed, in February, that 62% of these companies are of the opinion that the taxation of prices by Washington would have a “major impact” on their activities.
Sales also drop
In addition, the economic uncertainty of the past few months has also had the effect of sealing sales of Quebec companies abroad.
Firm sales of Quebec companies supported by Investissement Québec in their export activities reached $ 4.3 billion during the financial year 2024-2025, down $ 800 million compared to $ 5.1 billion last year.
The majority of these sales (59%) were made in the United States, which demonstrates how important this market is. Only a third (33%) of firm sales were made in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, and 8% elsewhere in Canada.
“After the record year that the state-owned company knew last year, and in the context of a trade war that marked the end of our financial year, our results are remarkable and I would like to highlight the significant efforts of our teams to assert the know-how of Quebec internationally,” said the CEO of Investissement Québec, Bicha Ngo, in a press release.
