Québec’s startup ecosystem has a new movement to rally around—one that aims to promote buying local tech to boost the province’s productivity.
Richard Chénier,
“To drive productivity, we must embrace our own innovations.”
Québec Tech
The I Adopt Québec’s Tech campaign was launched on Thursday by the provincially funded not-for-profit Québec Tech, government agency Investissement Québec, and capital development fund Fonds de solidarité FTQ. The initiative hopes to encourage startups and established businesses to buy tech products and services from local companies, instead of looking to the United States or international markets.
“The talent is undeniable,” Québec Tech general manager Richard Chénier told BetaKit on the day of the launch. “However, the real challenge lies in adoption. To drive productivity, we must embrace our own innovations.”
The movement goes beyond a bumper-sticker slogan. Companies that join as members will get preferred access to a directory of made-in-Québec enterprise services and products, custom support in adopting the technology, and additional resources through government programs and local organizations.
Since the province of 9 million people is a relatively small market, Québec startups must often explore international go-to-market strategies before selling at home. Québec Tech is framing the campaign as an effort to keep more of the economic value within the province, similar to the broader ‘Buy Canadian’ consumer movement that emerged last year in response to US tariff threats.
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Core to the initiative is boosting Québec’s lagging productivity metrics, which have been a preoccupation of economy and innovation ministers under Premier François Legault.
The province has launched several initiatives aimed at increasing this number, including the Grand V program. In 2024, Québec’s labour productivity growth rate outpaced that of Canada, according to Statistics Canada.
Québec Tech’s latest annual report listed more than 2,500 startups in the province in an ecosystem worth $99 billion. From 2023 to 2025, the report notes, venture capital (VC) funding has shifted more toward companies in hardware and manufacturing, which received roughly half of the VC dollars in Québec.
Feature image courtesy Caroline Clouâtre.