CANADA VIBES NEWSROOM · ÉDITION DU MATIN | MORNING EDITION — July 20, 2026, 9:31 PM ET

Minister of Natural Resources and Forests Kateri Champagne Jourdain announced an enhanced Programme Innovation Bois during a visit to Ville-Marie, in the Témiscamingue region, where the funding helps secure 125 jobs at LVL Global.

The Quebec government announced an additional $24 million to modernize the Programme Innovation Bois, aimed at supporting modernization, diversification and value-added production in the forestry industry.

The announcement was made by Minister of Natural Resources and Forests Kateri Champagne Jourdain in Ville-Marie, in the Témiscamingue region of Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

According to LVL Global’s general manager, Étienne Ricard, the government support helps secure 125 jobs at the Ville-Marie plant while boosting productivity through an automated production line. The company also received a $3.5-million grant from Ottawa for the project.

The provincial funding comes as Quebec’s forestry industry contends with both U.S. countervailing duties on softwood lumber and the need to modernize equipment to stay competitive.

What to watch

Whether other regional mills benefit from similar support, the trajectory of softwood lumber talks with the United States, and how many companies draw on the enhanced program.

Sources

• Radio-Canada, ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2269083
• TVA Abitibi-Témiscamingue
• Investissement Québec, newsroom