$415M for new aerospace innovation centres in Montreal, Longueuil, Mirabel

A major investment for Quebec’s aerospace industry was announced Tuesday to the tune of $415 million, and American company Boeing is involved.

The Quebec government announced the creation of an aerospace innovation zone called “Espace Aéro,” located in Longueuil, Mirabel and Montreal.

The project aims to enhance Quebec’s “attractiveness” in the aerospace field, hoping to make it a world leader in decarbonization and advanced air mobility.

Quebec Premier François Legault made the announcement at the International Aerospace Innovation Forum in Montreal alongside Quebec Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon and federal minister of innovation, science and industry, François-Philippe Champagne.

“We managed to bring together Polytechnique, the École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), McGill University and Concordia, companies including Bombardier and Boeing, the National Research Council of Canada, the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Quebec,” Legault said, listing some of the partners involved.

Other partners include: Pratt & Whitney Canada, Flying Whales Québec, Thales Canada, CAE, Airbus Canada, and Airbus Atlantique Canada.

“These investments contribute not only to the creation of jobs, of course, but also to the economic growth of the country,” said Boeing Canada director of strategy and policy Pierre Ruel.

Two areas of development will be prioritized: decarbonization (creation lighter structures and less polluting systems); and aircraft autonomy and safety (using intelligent communication, remote controls and cyber-security technologies).

“We already have in Quebec an industrial cluster in the aerospace which has been there for a number of years, Fitzgibbon said. “One of the poles will be in the Longueuil area where we will have what we call the AeroCampus, where the knowledge institutions, either collegial or university, will build up to have more training.

“What we’ve done is we put steroids on the industry cluster we had already.”

In addition to training programs, the innovation hub will include aircraft research programs and a new development centre.

“When we do commercialization, even if, of course, we have to keep a part of the profit to the university, to the searchers, but it’s for the benefit of all the society because we create very high paid jobs,” Legault explained.

The premier called Quebec “the third site in the world for aircraft manufacturing, after Seattle and Toulouse,” and that 235 companies work in the aerospace industry in Quebec.

Luc Rabouin, the chair of Montreal’s executive committee, called it “great news” for Montreal.

“Because it reinforces our position as a leading city in the world in terms of aerospace,” he said.

The Legault government is pledging $85 million towards the project, with Boeing investing $240 million. Boeing’s total investment is broken into three parts:

• $110 million for the innovation zone;
• $35 million for Héroux-Devtek’s research and development work on landing gear;
• $95 million to increase the number of employees in Quebec from its subsidiary Wisk Canada.

“We hit a home run in attracting Boeing,” Champagne said.

–With files from Anastasia Dextrene and La Presse Canadienne