The Complementary Local Currency Quebec project, or MLC Quebec project, was born in 2016, at the initiative of citizens of the central districts of Quebec. It ended in the fall of 2024. This audacious project, to say the least, was the subject of an analysis in the summer of 2024 by the master’s student in land use planning and regional development, Antoine Laforte.
“The experience of the MLC Quebec project gave relatively satisfactory results, even if the objective of being a long-term project was not achieved,” explains the man who presented the results of his analysis a few years ago. weeks during a student conference.
The ecological transition
MLC Québec was created thanks to activists committed to the ecological transition. This approach is defined as the transition towards a way of life and an economy that better respects nature. Based on the concept of circular economy, the MLC Québec project reached a crucial milestone in 2018 with the creation of the local exchange note, the BLÉ. This currency, which was available in 5, 10 and 20 WHEAT notes, could be used instead of the dollar. It followed a 1:1 ratio with the Canadian dollar.
At its peak, this currency brought together more than 300 users, as well as around fifty participating businesses. Around 10,500 local exchange notes were in circulation.
“WHEAT was really a currency parallel to the Canadian dollar,” maintains Antoine Laforte. The citizen’s dollars were deposited in a guarantee fund in a partner financial institution. This money remained available to be converted into complementary local currency.”
At its peak, WHEAT was used by more than 300 people.
— MLC Québec
One of the objectives of the MLC Québec project was to integrate participating merchants into a complete circuit which, for example, could include agriculture, butchery, grocery shopping and consumption.
“In reality, the circuit was never really complete and the currency circulated mainly between retail businesses and consumers,” he emphasizes. The WHEATs were therefore reintegrated into the loop by the merchants by offering to return part of the change in exchange to new customers. Certain businesses therefore acted in a way as a currency exchange counter.”
According to the student, the MLC Quebec project, due to its scale, was among the most important local currency projects in Quebec.
A second local currency
The WHEAT-based initiative quickly spread to the urban community of Quebec, as far as Lévis, on the south shore of the capital. This expansion is partly due to the arrival, in 2020, of an additional player in the MLC Quebec project, the solidarity dollar. This project came from commercial development companies, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Quebec and MLC Quebec. In the form of a voucher, the solidarity dollar offered an added value of 1.5 compared to the Canadian dollar. In other words, 100 solidarity dollars had the value of $150.
“The two currencies differed in terms of objectives,” indicates Antoine Laforte. WHEAT had a long-term perspective in the spirit of a circular economy that encouraged local commerce and aimed to change our relationship to consumption. The solidarity dollar mainly aimed to revive the economy, with several businesses being in financial difficulty. The financial gain aspect convinced many to get involved.”
At its peak, the solidarity dollar was used by more than 2,000 people and around 460 businesses. The value of solidarity dollars in circulation was more than $400,000.
The pandemic, competition and a gradual decline
During his research, the student interviewed six people involved in the MLC Quebec project. “For many,” he says, “their commitment was motivated by the possibility of making an environmental difference and also of creating social bonds in a community in which we meet people from all walks of life. But the COVID-19 pandemic has made that more difficult. For example, exchanges in paper money, Canadian dollars and local currencies, have ceased. And the social connection by videoconference was more difficult to create.
“The two distinct local currencies competed somewhat and gradually died out,” he summarizes.
One of the causes, according to him, of the disappearance of the solidarity dollar was the obstacle represented by the management of budgets by three actors each having their own conception. “These three visions,” he continues, “did not all go in the same direction, which led to certain difficulties. Pursuing interest was another obstacle. For the business development companies, the Quebec Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Complementary Local Currency Quebec project, it was a temporary project.”
Another factor was the daily management of the two currencies by the volunteer members of MLC Quebec. “This work,” he explains, “required a lot of time and energy given the large volume of transactions.”
According to him, WHEAT and the solidarity dollar have suffered in particular from a lack of dialogue. In the first case, the main obstacle was the absence of a culture of experimentation in management organizations. In the second case, we are talking about the absence of guidelines and leadership.
“Depending on the objectives of the project and the fact that it has ended,” concludes Antoine Laforte, “we cannot strictly speak of a success. However, this is not a failure. From the perspective of citizen experiments, it is not only the purpose that has value, but the process, the trajectory, which carries learning which is just as important and which can promote the maintenance of future projects carried out by citizens.”
