Quebec is ready to take more risks to support its companies.

Investissement Quebec, the financing arm of the provincial government, will increasingly buy subordinated debt or take outright stakes in local businesses under a revamped mandate, according to Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon. Support for Groupe Mach Inc.’s recent offer to buy tour operator Transat A.T., which has yet to be approved, illustrates the new strategy, he said.

“Investissement Quebec has traditionally been a lender: It must become an equity partner,” Fitzgibbon said in an interview on the sideline of the Conference of Montreal Monday. “I want to rectify companies’ under-investment.”

The plan is part of Premier Francois Legault’s vow to bridge the province’s income gap with provinces such as Ontario, which makes Quebec’s budget more dependent on federal funds. To create more wealth, investment in Quebec companies needs to double, Legault said during a speech earlier Monday.

“That’s a lot of money,” Fitzgibbon said. “Banks won’t do it. Shareholders often have limitations, so we need to enter aggressively into this capital chain.”

The new strategy will help companies in sectors including innovative manufacturing or artificial intelligence, according to Fitzgibbon. The government also keeps a list of companies that it’s ready to fight for in order to keep headquarters and jobs in Quebec, he said. Transat is one example, as is Bombardier Inc. and the aerospace sector, he said.

Another is SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., the embattled construction firm at the heart of Canada’s biggest political scandal in years, which has seen its share value drop by about half this year, he said. The Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec’s stake in the engineering firm has helped protect it, he said.

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