October 1, 2026

Trade War: Innovation Is Our Best Weapon

Marie-Pierre Ippersiel, CEO of PRIMA Québec, and Dominique St-Louis, Executive Director of Prompt*

Campaign buses are currently crisscrossing every corner of Quebec to win over Quebecers. At the same time, our manufacturing and export companies have had to contend with uncertainty, rising costs, squeezed margins, and a loss of competitiveness since the Trump administration took office. For several months now, Quebec has been trying to mitigate the impacts of the trade war with our southern neighbors. A natural reaction for businesses is to postpone value-creating investments. On the government side, they are rolling out programs that mobilize billions of dollars in public funds and aim to preserve our industrial base. These measures should place greater emphasis on innovation, which is what creates true collective wealth. In other words, to counteract the negative impacts of this tariff war, we must innovate.

Innovative companies weather crises better

Our politicians, business leaders, and researchers all talk about innovation, but they sometimes struggle to explain in simple terms what it means for our economy. Innovation helps reduce costs, diversify markets, create new products, and develop intellectual property. It is a strategic investment in Quebec’s competitiveness and economic sovereignty.

A Major Challenge for Quebec: Bringing Our Innovations to Market

To make Quebec a leader in innovation, it must adopt an approach that bridges the gap between research (the idea) and the market (the product). Building on an ecosystem that supports industrial innovation projects arising directly from the needs of businesses should be more widely recognized and supported by public policymakers.

Guiding an idea to market means maximizing the impact of innovation

Quebec and Canada are among the world leaders in research, but lag behind when it comes to commercializing it. Why? Applications stemming from basic research rightly require longer cycles, whereas the industrial innovation cycle is shorter. In other words, companies must deliver quickly, stay within budget, meet customer needs, and minimize risk. They need partners capable of bridging these two paces and supporting them from the initial idea all the way to market. These partners are the Industrial Research Sector Groups (RSRI). Serving as true bridges between companies, funders, and the academic community, the RSRI provide companies with cutting-edge expertise in nine industrial sectors—expertise that companies would struggle to develop on their own. The results speak for themselves: more than 75% of the projects completed by the RSRI have been commercialized. Companies that benefit from our services develop new markets, forge new partnerships, maintain and create jobs, secure new contracts, and increase their revenue. The RSRI clearly serve as catalysts that enable companies to invest in innovation while also facilitating the raising of new capital.

RSRI: A Tool for Boosting Quebec’s Productivity and Prosperity

RSRI urges current and future public policymakers to use the current trade war as a catalyst—not a barrier—to innovation. In an environment where every public dollar must demonstrate its return on investment, RSRI has proven its worth to thousands of businesses over the past 20 years. To support businesses and boost Québec’s economic vitality, the RSRI aims to further drive industrial innovation projects. The tariff war leaves us no choice: innovate or fall behind. Let’s choose to support industrial research, back our innovative companies, and enrich ourselves collectively. Driving innovation projects by and for our businesses means encouraging controlled—yet necessary—risk-taking so that Quebec can fully occupy its rightful place in the global economy.

*Signatories:

• Marie-Pierre Ippersiel, CEO of PRIMA Québec
• Dominique St-Louis, Executive Director of Prompt
• Geneviève Mathieu, CEO of CRIBIQ
• Véronique Dugas, CEO of CQDM
• Guillaume Côté, CEO of CRIAQ
• Annie-Kim Gilbert, CEO of MEDTEQ+
• Marilyne Simard, CEO of CQRDA
• Thierry St-Cyr, CEO of InnovÉÉ
• Jean-François Pouliot, Executive Director of CRITM