Québec Premier François Legault has overhauled his cabinet, shuffling Minister Christopher Skeete away from the province’s innovation portfolio. The move leaves Minister Christine Fréchette to lead the innovation file with two junior ministers.
Skeete was appointed a junior minister to the Ministry of Economy, Innovation, and Energy (MEIE) in 2022. After “super-minister” Pierre Fitzgibbon abruptly resigned from the ministry a year ago, Christine Fréchette was appointed to lead it. Skeete was asked to handle innovation, regional economic development, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Now, Skeete is taking on the duties of international relations and the French language, in addition to his role as Minister for the Fight Against Racism. Skeete thanked his MEIE colleagues in a LinkedIn post, noting he would continue to grow Québec’s global economic footprint in his new role. “We are diversifying our export markets, notably in Europe, to reduce our dependence on the United States and pursue new growth opportunities for our businesses,” Skeete wrote in French.
“We sincerely hope that innovation stays a priority and that we finally give more space for innovative startups to thrive in our economy.”
Richard Chénier, Québec Tech
Skeete worked closely with the province’s investment arm, Investissement Québec, which is a significant source of venture capital (VC) funding in the province—both as a limited partner and as a direct investor. He was also a regular fixture at Montréal-based startup events, including the opening of the government-backed Ax.c innovation hub and the Startup Community Awards.
Richard Chénier, general manager of scaleup support organization Québec Tech, told BetaKit that Skeete was a key “ambassador for innovation.”
“We sincerely hope that innovation stays a priority and that we finally give more space for innovative startups to thrive in our economy,” Chénier said. “We’re not there yet, but I’m hopeful.”
Legault kept Fréchette as head of the MEIE, tasking her with bringing forward a “new vision” for Québec’s economic future that focuses on the defence sector. Samuel Poulin was appointed as junior minister for the economy and SMEs, while Eric Girard (not to be confused with Québec’s finance minister) was appointed junior minister for regional economic development.
Louis-Félix Binette, executive director of entrepreneurship organization MAIN, welcomed the “strong regional perspectives” that Poulin and Girard bring to the table.
“Poulin’s long experience with youth policy might bring a fresh sensibility [to] the challenges that emerging entrepreneurs are facing,” Binette told BetaKit.
Last year, Skeete told BetaKit that the province’s business productivity was a matter of “existential” importance. His priorities were boosting private sector participation in Québec’s innovation economy, which has long relied heavily on public funding, and closing the productivity gap with Ontario. These goals aligned with his predecessor, Fitzgibbon, who established the province’s $7.5-billion, five-year research and innovation strategy in 2022.
Over the past year, the MEIE has favoured direct spending for business and industry. Provincial direct aid to startup and small business support programs had risen by 67 percent under Legault compared to the previous administration, the Journal de Montréal found.
Legault’s cabinet shuffle comes amid a tanking approval rating for the premier and the province’s overspending on SAAQclic, a digital platform for Québec’s vehicle insurance board. The premier promised to make significant cuts to the public service as a kind of “shock treatment” to make it more efficient.
The most recent provincial budget introduced the new Plan PME (Small Business Plan) 2025-2028, which promises an initial $42 million over three years, replacing the Plan québécois en entrepreneuriat (Québec Entrepreneurship Plan) 2022-2025. The government said this plan is more expansive and includes measures to help entrepreneurs invest in projects to boost productivity.
Feature image courtesy Christopher Skeete via LinkedIn.