Christine Frechette maintains leadership on economics and innovation, supported by two junior ministers.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault has reformed his cabinet by removing Minister Christopher Skeete from the province's innovation portfolio. As a result of this process, Minister Christine Frechette will lead the innovation process along with two junior ministers.
Skeete has been appointed as a junior minister at the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy (MEIE) in 2022. After “super minister” Pierre Fitzgibbon abruptly left the ministry a year ago, Christine Frechette took over. The hermitage was tasked with focusing on innovation, regional economic development and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Skeete now takes on responsibilities for international relations and French in addition to his role as anti-racism minister. Skeet thanked his colleagues from MEIE in a post on LinkedIn, noting that he will continue to expand Quebec's global economic presence in his new role. “We are diversifying our export markets, especially in Europe, to reduce our dependence on the United States and seize new growth opportunities for our business,” Skeete wrote in French.
“We sincerely hope that innovation remains a priority and that we finally provide more space for innovative startups to thrive in our economy.”
Richard Chenier, Quebec Institute of Technology
Skeete worked closely with the province's investment arm, Investissement Québec, significant source venture capital (VC) in the province – both as a limited partner and as a direct investor. He has also been a regular at startup events in Montreal, including the launch of a government-backed Ax.s innovation center and Startup Community Awards.
Richard Chenier, general manager of scaling support organization Québec Tech, told BetaKit that Skeete was a key “ambassador of innovation.”
“We sincerely hope that innovation remains a priority and that we finally provide more space for innovative startups to thrive in our economy,” Chenier said. “We're not there yet, but I'm hopeful.”
Legault retained Frechette as head of MEIE, tasking her with putting forward a “new vision” for Quebec’s economic future, focused on the defense sector. Samuel Poulain was appointed junior minister of the economy and SMEs, and Eric Girard (not to be confused with Quebec's finance minister) was appointed junior minister of regional economic development.
Louis-Félix Binette, chief executive of business organization MAIN, welcomed the “strong regional perspective” that Poulin and Girard offer.
“Poulain's long experience in youth politics could bring a new sensibility [to] challenges that aspiring entrepreneurs face,” Binette told BetaKit.
Last year, Skeete told BetaKit that business productivity in the province was a question of “existential” importance. His priorities were to increase private sector participation in Quebec's innovation economy, which has long relied heavily on government funding and closing the productivity gap with Ontario. These goals were consistent with those of his predecessor Fitzgibbon, who established the province's five-year program with a budget of $7.5 billion. research and innovation strategy in 2022.
Last year, MEIE prioritized direct spending on business and industry. Provincial direct assistance programs for startups and small business support resurrected by 67 percent under Lego compared to the previous administration, Montreal Magazine found.
Legault's cabinet reshuffle comes amid tanking approval rating for the Prime Minister and the Province overspending on SAAQclicdigital platform for the Quebec Motor Insurance Council. The prime minister has vowed to make deep cuts to the civil service as a kind of “shock therapy” to make it more efficient.
Most latest provincial budget introduced a new Plan PME (Small Business Plan) for 2025–2028, which promises an initial US$42 million over three years, replacing the Plan Québécois en entrepreneurship (Quebec Enterprise Plan) for 2022–2025. The government said the plan was broader and included measures to help businesses invest in productivity projects.
Artistic image courtesy of Christopher Skeete via LinkedIn.
