Quebec premier defends his interventionist policy by backing the company Jefo

Quebec Premier Francois Legault makes an announcement at Jefo Nutrition Inc. facilities, in Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., on Friday, March 27, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)

Taking advantage of a funding announcement for a company in Saint-Hyacinthe, Montérégie, on Friday, Premier François Legault vigorously defended his interventionist approach, which has been criticized from all sides, including by his potential successor Christine Fréchette, who has said she wants to be less interventionist.

With two weeks to go before the end of his term as premier, Legault was keen to send “a little message” to all those who criticize his approach.

“I want to say a few words about state aid, because I hear all sorts of things about state aid, such as how it would be so clever and sensible if the government stopped helping businesses, and we could put that money into hospitals,” said Legault. “Well, as for me, I stand by my position. When we help a Quebec business, it creates wealth, and that wealth allows us to invest in hospitals. That’s what people need to understand.”

At the end of his speech, however, he defended himself well during the press scrum against accusations that he was targeting Fréchette in particular when asked specifically about her: “I won’t get involved in the debate back home!”

His message, he then clarified, “is aimed at everyone, because, whether it’s journalists or the opposition, it doesn’t matter—there are far too many people at the moment who are oversimplifying things by saying that instead of giving money to businesses, we should put it into health care. It doesn’t work like that.”

He took the opportunity to praise previous premiers who had provided the necessary tools to enable action.

“We need the state. That is why Jean Lesage, Jacques Parizeau and Bernard Landry created the Caisse des Dépôts and Investissement Québec. So, let’s be careful before jumping to conclusions.”

Northvolt: ‘It’s a bit boring’

Both in his speech and during the press conference, Legault pointed out that when he came to power, the wealth gap between Quebec and the rest of Canada was 20 per cent and that his government had reduced it to 14 per cent.

This, he said, is a major part of the legacy he is leaving to Quebecers.

“It is probably one of my greatest sources of pride, to have managed, in seven years, to outperform the economic growth of Ontario and the rest of Canada, something we hadn’t seen for a very long time.”

To achieve the result, you have to take risks, he argued, making no secret of his irritation at the prominence the Northvolt issue has taken in the public sphere.

“There will be failures, but that mustn’t stop us from acting,” he said. “We have to be able to look at the overall picture; we have to be ambitious. (...) Yes, it’s getting a bit tiresome to see that some people talk about nothing but Northvolt. We’ve helped 25,000 businesses, and all the talk is about a few failures. It’s a bit of a let-down.”

The premier was received by Jefo, a company that manufactures animal feed supplements, to announce that Quebec will provide it with a $120 million loan to support a total investment of over $250 million, aimed in particular at adding production lines, building a new factory and creating a poultry research centre.

‘Smart’ support

During his speech, Legault returned four times to the benefits of state aid, citing the example of that offered to Jefo.

“When I also see (…) that Americans want to give subsidies to Jefo, that Jefo is being sold in the United States, that the head office is being moved, well, let’s stop being naive. We need more than ever to support our Quebec businesses in a smart way,” said Legault.

The $120 million offered by Quebec in the form of a loan includes a small portion—$10 million—which the company will not have to repay if it creates the 150 jobs it has promised.

“There is a small part of the loan that becomes forgivable if you deliver the jobs. So how do you pay for that grant? Well, jobs mean people paying taxes, and that boosts government revenue,” the premier emphasized to illustrate what he meant by “intelligent support.”

Jefo, a family-run business established in 1982, exports 75 per cent of its production to 80 countries and is not dependent on the United States, which imports only 12 per cent of this production.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 27, 2026.