Quebec government invests US$300 million more in Airbus A220 production

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MIRABEL — Quebec is investing an additional US$300 million (C$413 million) to help Airbus SE ramp up production of its narrow-body A220 aircraft, Premier François Legault announced Tuesday.

Airbus will also invest US$900 million in the A220 program, formerly known as the Bombardier CSeries, with the aim of doubling its production capacity over the next two years.

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The announcement brings the Quebec government’s total investment in the CSeries and the A220 to more than $2 billion since 2016.

But Legault insists the move is a “good deal.”

“It’s a lot of money, but at the same time, this is very strategic,” he said during a news conference at the Airbus assembly site in Mirabel. “We have been partners since the beginning.”

Legault visited the Airbus factory with Quebec economy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon and the president and CEO of Airbus Canada, Benoit Schultz.

Quebec is topping up its funding in order to protect the value of its investment and to extend the 2030 deadline by which Airbus would otherwise be able to buy back its minority stake. With this deal, the government will remain a shareholder until at least 2035.

“Today, we are consolidating the presence of Airbus, an aerospace giant, in a sector that creates enormous wealth for our nation,” Legault said in a statement.

The multinational has 4,000 employees in Quebec, including 3,500 in the production of the A220s.

The agreement guarantees that two-thirds of the jobs linked to the production of this aircraft will be in Quebec. These jobs have an average salary of $87,500 per year, Legault said. The decision-making centre will also remain in Mirabel.

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“The A220 is the fruit of Quebec genius, and we can be proud to have developed one of the best aircraft in the world,” Fitzgibbon said.

Airbus acquired the A220 program during a commercial agreement with Bombardier in 2018.

In 2015, former premier Philippe Couillard’s Liberal government invested $1.3-billion in exchange for a 49.5-per-cent stake in the CSeries program. Legault added another $380 million in 2022. Quebec’s stake is now 25 per cent and last year was valued at about $300 million — effectively wiping out the original investment.

Schultz said he hopes to sell 14 aircraft per month and achieve profitability by 2026. The program has recently been affected by a problem with engines made by American aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney.

The A220 jet is assembled in Mirabel and Mobile, Ala., and Schultz said Airbus had delivered 28 planes by the end of June this year.

“The company may lose money right now, but this program is one of the best programs of Airbus,” Fitzgibbon said. “So far, the program is successful from a sales perspective … At the end of the day, the consumers like the product, and they buy it.”

The aerospace industry, which Legault and Fitzgibbon describe as “strategic,” represents a total of nearly 42,000 jobs across the province and 15 per cent of Quebec exports.

The machinists’ union also welcomed Tuesday’s investment, saying it helps “secure jobs.”

“With these investments, we are protecting good jobs and supporting a highly strategic and beneficial industry for Quebec,” declared the Canadian vice-president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, David Chartrand, in a statement.

The union, however, criticized the absence of the federal government, accusing it of a lack of “strategic vision and a structuring aerospace policy.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect first name for Airbus Canada CEO Benoit Schultz.

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