Quebec Economic Growth Attracts U.S. Investors

In late September, Quebec’s finance minister, Carlos Leitao, addressed dozens of U.S. investors in New York. During the conference, which was hosted by Bloomberg, it became clear that Quebec’s recent economic resurgence is starting to gain more attention from potential investors. But there was an additional motive as well.

Originally reported by BNN, the meeting saw Leitao put forward what was essentially a sales pitch for Quebec as an investment opportunity. He expressed great pleasure to be speaking at the event and even greater pleasure to see so many investors in the crowd. Leitao also summarized Quebec’s position when he said, “We are doing very well, by the way. Very well”.

Far from being an empty speech, Leitao highlighted that Quebec’s economy is on a steady rise, and is consistently growing each quarter. Recent figures show that the provinces’ real domestic gross product, a pretty standard measure of economic growth, expanded at an annual rate of 2.5% in the second quarter of 2017. This is Quebec’s sixth successive quarter of growth above 2%, which shows a consistency in their growth.

TD Economics projects Quebec’s growth to be just under 3% for 2017; the fastest pace since 2002. The note also highlights record low unemployment rates hovering around the 6% mark. Statistically speaking, Quebec is in a very financially stable situation.

Carlos Leitao predicts that this growth will continue as it is led by rising incomes and consumer-driven expansion rather than by ballooning debt. He says, “This is a growth funded by income gains, which makes it much more sustainable.”

Quebec has often been overlooked by investors as having a struggling economy and social issues to complicate the matter, but the Bloomberg conference suggests that it will be getting more investor interest this year and in years to come. Many of the investors present pressed for more information on the province during the conference as well as during the networking lunch.

There will be no iGaming investment for Quebec for, as we know, players currently have to jog over the border to play for real money on sites in New Jersey. Most of the participants were fixed-price investors looking, for example, to invest in bonds offered by the Canadian Federal and Provincial Governments.

Investors asked questions relating to the economy’s staying power, the potential for job creation in Quebec, the strength of the housing market, and pitched queries relating to the city’s tech sector.

A panel of Canadian experts spoke later in the day and Quebec was compared to its neighboring province Ontario, which traditionally has enjoyed a stronger economy and more opportunities for investors. Experts suggested that Ontario could cause problems for investors due to its exposure to high household debts as well as concerns about the strength of the Toronto housing market. Ontario could even appear relatively weaker as a choice for investment given these factors.

Quebec’s economy has gone from strength to strength in recent times. New statistics show economic growth over several consecutive quarters with strong annual growth of nearly 3% projected for 2017. The Bloomberg conference was Carlos Leitao’s opportunity to speak highly of this growth, but will his pitch lead to U.S. investors opting for Quebec as their province of choice in Canada? Only time will tell…