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Investors who choose Québec are also choosing sustainable forest development. They can count on a competent workforce, a strategic geographical location, diversified infrastructures and a highly advantageous tax system.
A Well-Established Industry
Québec’s manufacturing sector is dominated by the forest products industry, which includes the wood products, pulp, paper and board industries. In 2005, the forest products industry generated annual shipments valued at $20.7 billion, a trade surplus of nearly $9 billion and more than 134,673 direct jobs. In addition, it is the principal, and in some cases the only, source of manufacturing activity in nearly 245 municipalities throughout Québec. Because the industry plays a major role in Québec’s balance of trade and constitutes the economic backbone of most of Québec’s regions, its development and competitive capacity must be secured.
Québec: An International Hub
Québec, with its strategic geographical location, is an excellent base for exporters. Montreal, its economic capital, is also the country’s primary international telecommunications centre. Montreal is located at the heart of an extensive network of maritime and land-based transportation corridors, less than 1,000 kilometres from the major cities of Boston, New York, Washington, Detroit and Toronto, with access to a population pool of more than 100 million inhabitants.
A Competitive Economic Environment
A KPMG study (2004) found that the business environment offered by Québec is highly competitive. The average cost of establishing and operating a business is lower in Québec than in countries such as Germany, France, Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom and the rest of Canada. As an example, operating costs in Québec are 2.1% lower than the Canadian average, and 11.1% lower than in the United States.
Québec’s competitive benefits are strengthened by tax legislation designed specifically to address the needs of companies wishing to settle in the province. Business tax rates are lower in Québec than in any of the other sites studied in the 2004 KPMG survey.
Partnership
Opportunities
There are other advantages to investing in Québec’s forest products industry. Québec has created a range of State-owned corporations and parapublic risk capital agencies such as Investissement
Québec and the SGF,
which are extremely effective as economic development tools. In fact, Québec is Canada’s risk capital champion. In 2004, 45% of Canada ’s total risk capital of $9.3 billion came from funds managed by public and private corporations in Québec.
See Also
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