AÉRO MONTRÉAL SALUTES THE QUÉBEC GOVERNMENT'S CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO THE AEROSPACE SECTOR Français

Announcement of $334 million in support as part of the update of the Québec Aerospace Strategy (QAS) Horizon 2026

MONTRÉAL, February 7, 2022 - Aéro Montréal welcomes the Québec government's commitment to support and strengthen the recovery of the Québec aerospace industry and to make it a reality through the update of the Québec Aerospace Strategy (QAS) Horizon 2026.

Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of Economy and Innovation and Minister Responsible for Regional Economic Development, announced $334 million in financial support between now and 2024 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal.

Designed to meet the needs expressed by the industry, this strategy includes self-financed measures and additional credits of $95 million that will support total investments (public/private) estimated at nearly $2.8 billion for the next two years.

This new version of the Québec Aerospace Strategy is the result of an unprecedented collaboration between the Québec government and stakeholders in the Québec aerospace industry. Grouped under the Alliance for the Recovery, a Strategic Committee was created in May 2020 under the direction of the Board of Directors of Aéro Montréal to accelerate the sector's emergence from the crisis, to revive the industry based on its needs and to propose appropriate solutions to meet them in collegiality with the Ministry of Economy and Innovation (MEI).

At the heart of the new government strategy's priorities are three main areas: accelerating innovation in order to integrate the technologies of tomorrow; learning from the crisis by focusing on diversification into promising niches for companies; and strengthening the value chain and its place on world markets.

"The Québec Aerospace Strategy has been revised to meet the needs of our companies, which are evolving in a new reality driven, among other things, by sustainable air mobility. It will act as a lever to enable our members to strengthen their competitiveness and encourage their diversification. It is a pact of trust between the industry and the government that will stimulate the revival of the sector, building a stronger and more sustainable future for the next generation of talent. This strategy will definitely be a key factor in making aerospace a strategic pillar of Québec's economic recovery," said Suzanne M. Benoît, President of Aéro Montréal.