Capitale-Commerce — Ville de Québec

Program Description

A non-repayable contribution of up to $35,000 — capped at 30% of eligible expenses — for independent retailers opening, expanding, re-equipping or getting expert advice on a commercial project. Eligibility is street-level: the business must be on the ground floor with its own street entrance in one of eleven named commercial districts in the Quebec City agglomeration or in Wendake, and the City runs a commercial-mix analysis to decide whether the project adds to the district's retail offer.

Eligibility Requirements

• Applicant must be a privately incorporated business, or a social-economy enterprise (non-profit or co-operative) carrying out mainly commercial activities. Duly registered sole proprietorships and general partnerships qualify only if they are majority Indigenous-owned and located on the territory of Wendake.
• The business must be located in one of eleven named eligible commercial territories: Avenue Cartier, Avenue Maguire, Avenue Royale, Chemin Sainte-Foy (Saint-Sacrement sector), Faubourg Saint-Jean, Quartier Saint-Roch, Rue du Campanile, Rue Notre-Dame (L'Ancienne-Lorette), Rue Racine, Saint-Sauveur, or Vieux-Québec. Being elsewhere in Quebec City does not qualify.
• The head office must be in the Quebec City agglomeration (Québec, Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, L'Ancienne-Lorette) or Wendake.
• The business must have a street-level presence on the ground floor of a building (including businesses operating over several floors).
• Limited to businesses of 50 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees per establishment.
• Limited to local franchises with a maximum of five establishments.
• Independent retailers qualify only if they are not affiliated with a national banner or a large distribution chain and play an important economic role in their community — contributing to local convenience services, local purchasing or the vitality of the local commercial fabric.
• Service businesses qualify only for a new business opening in a vacant commercial unit.
• The restaurant sector is not eligible.
• Vehicle dealers, auto-parts retailers, service stations, collaborative tourist accommodation (for example Airbnb, HomeAway) and online-only businesses are not eligible.
• Minimum $15,000 of eligible expenses.
• A new commercial lease must have a minimum term of 36 months.
• Maximum one contribution per establishment in any five-year period.
• Total active funding across all Ville de Québec economic-development programs is capped at $500,000 per two-year period, with every award counted at 100% of its value.
• Applicants must contact the Service du développement économique et des grands projets before filing an application.
• Applicants must supply documentation demonstrating the need and how the project improves the district's commercial mix or adds value in the target market segment. The City performs its own commercial-mix analysis to validate the project.
• Repayment clauses apply if the business leaves the territory or ceases operations, calculated by the date of the event.
• Applicants who have not been discharged from a bankruptcy judgment are excluded.
• Businesses listed on Quebec's Registre des entreprises non admissibles aux contrats publics (RENA) are excluded.
• Applicants who, in the two years preceding the application, failed to meet obligations tied to earlier Ville de Québec financial assistance after being formally put on notice are excluded.
• Applicants with amounts outstanding to the Ville de Québec are excluded, and any sums owed are deducted from payments (taxes, SDC dues, fines).
• Organizations that do not meet the high integrity standards the public is entitled to expect of a recipient of public funds are excluded, as are discriminatory or controversial projects, or projects presenting a reputational risk to the City.
• No member of Quebec's National Assembly, no municipal elected official and no member of their family may be party to, or benefit from, a contract or commission arising from the FRCN delegation agreement.
• A business that already received a Ville de Québec grant under Vision entrepreneuriale Québec must wait until it has received the final instalment of that grant before filing a new application (this restriction does not apply to the Bourse entrepreneuriale or Bons d'accompagnement streams).
• Applicants consent to the City requesting Quebec City police checks and credit-bureau enquiries on the business and on the signatory personally.
• Eligibility does not guarantee an award — the amount offered depends on available funds and the City's assessment of demonstrated need.