Longueuil is ready to obtain the designation of an aerospace innovation zone, which the Ministry of the Economy, Innovation and Energy is slow to confirm. Mayor Catherine Fournier presented on Friday the broad outlines of the master plan for this area that she hopes to see take shape in the Saint-Hubert district and which will become, according to her, the most important economic project in the history of the area. city.
Announced with great fanfare by the Quebec government, the creation of technological innovation zones has aroused clear interest among industrial, academic and municipal stakeholders from different regions of Quebec who wish to fully develop the potential of certain cutting-edge areas of activity, but their launch is done in dribs and drabs.
In February 2022, Quebec unveiled the identity of the first two innovation zones, one specialized in quantum sciences in Sherbrooke around the expertise developed in quantum physics by the University of Sherbrooke, the other specialized in intelligent electronic systems in Bromont, based on the strong presence of IBM and electronic component companies.
Since then, last June, there was the creation of the Energy Transition Valley which brings together the municipalities of Bécancour, Shawinigan and Trois-Rivières, due to the expertise developed there around the sector. battery and electrification of transport.
“We, in Longueuil, are ready and we want to be designated as an innovation zone because we have 78 companies in the sector that are active in our territory and they represent 40% of the Quebec aeronautical industry,” says Ms. explained Mayor Catherine Fournier on the sidelines of the presentation she made Friday noon.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The mayor of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier
The designation of an innovation zone strengthens our international attractiveness.
Catherine Fournier, mayor of Longueuil
More than 400 people from aeronautics, the business world and education came to a hangar of the National Aerotechnic School in Saint-Hubert, at the invitation of the Chamber of Commerce of the Rive- South which had to refuse 200 people for lack of available places…
“We wanted to let everyone know and remind the government that becoming one of the three hubs of the aeronautics innovation zone with Ville Saint-Laurent and Mirabel is important for Longueuil,” added the mayor.
The aeronautical industry employs more than 7,500 people in the municipality while Pratt & Whitney is the largest private employer with more than 4,000 employees at its Longueuil and Saint-Hubert sites.
Industrial development and innovation
The municipality of Longueuil wants to take advantage of the aeronautical industry to ensure its economic development over the next 20 years by becoming a hub for the decarbonization of the industry.
Already, Pratt & Whitney is investing massively in the development of new hybrid aircraft engines and is acting as a force of attraction for new players such as the company H55, a manufacturer of battery packs for aeronautics which has announced its establishment in Saint -Hubert, right next to the airport. Boeing could also establish the research center there that it recently announced.
The master plan for the aeronautical innovation zone made it possible to free up more than 10 million square feet of available space near the Saint-Hubert airport for the establishment of new businesses.
The City owns 5 million square feet that it can sell to businesses in the sector and the airport has 5 million square feet that it can rent for new industrial sites.
At the École nationale d’aérotechnique de Saint-Hubert (ENA), affiliated with Cégep Édouard-Montpetit, the innovation zone will be enriched with additional expertise while the École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS) will open from next year a first antenna outside of Montreal.
This new campus established on the South Shore of Montreal will offer a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering and will require the upcoming construction of a campus near the ENA. Ultimately, more than 400 students will be able to follow their university education there. François Gagnon, general director of the ETS, says he is very enthusiastic about this first establishment of the institution outside of Montreal.
The master plan for the aeronautics innovation zone project is not limited to the development of the industrial character of the zone alone; the City also plans to develop part of the surrounding area to build some 2,000 homes.
Does Mme Fournier felt the need to make a public outing because she feels that her city’s status as an aeronautical innovation zone is threatened?
” Absolutely not. I have always had good meetings with Minister Fitzgibbon. I think it’s just a question of timing and news that postponed the government’s announcement. We are very sure that this will happen soon,” assures Catherine Fournier.