Capitale-Commerce — Ville de Québec

Insider Tip

This is an address-first program: eleven named streets and districts, and the City publishes a boundary map PDF for each one — check yours before you plan anything, because Quebec City generally does not qualify. Two sequencing traps decide files. First, expenses committed before the City confirms assistance are not eligible, so do not sign equipment contracts or start work while you wait. Second, the first two years of rent are only eligible if the lease was signed AFTER you filed the application — filing before you sign the lease can be worth tens of thousands. If you are a service business rather than a retailer, you qualify only when you are a new business moving into a vacant unit. And build the file around the commercial-mix argument: the City runs its own analysis of whether your project improves the district's retail offer, and that is what it is actually buying.

Rejection Pitfalls 12

• Address outside the eleven named eligible commercial territories
• No ground-floor street frontage
• Restaurant, vehicle dealer, auto-parts retailer, service station, short-term-accommodation or online-only business

Success Profile

An independent retailer with fewer than 50 employees opening or expanding a ground-floor, street-front store on Avenue Cartier, in Saint-Roch, Saint-Sauveur, Vieux-Québec or one of the other eight eligible districts, on a new 36-month-plus lease, with at least $15,000 of eligible spend on fit-out, equipment and launch marketing, no national banner affiliation, nothing owed to the City, and a clear argument that the store fills a gap in the district's commercial mix.

Evaluation Criteria

The City assesses: the viability and coherence of the project, both in its nature and in the realism of the financing structure; the applicant's organizational management capacity — relevant expertise and experience for delivering the project; the applicant's financial capacity to complete the project and meet its objectives; the demonstration of the need for financial assistance; and the support structure around the project, where applicable. Separately, the City conducts a commercial-mix analysis of the district to validate whether the project belongs there. Eligibility does not guarantee an award; the amount offered depends on fund availability and the assessed need.

Application Steps

Required Documents 8

Eligible Expenses 7

• Acquisition of production, operating or technology equipment that improves productivity or supports growth
• Professional fees, consulting services and studies related to the business's strategic issues
• For a new business: rent for the first two years of the lease, if signed after the funding application was filed (lease term minimum 36 months)
• For a new business: marketing, promotion and advertising campaigns, up to six months
• For a new business: purchases of materials and equipment relating to the premises, up to six months
• Leasehold improvements, refurbishment, expansion or renovation of the premises (specific contract-award rules may apply)
• Salaries and fees for implementing the project — employees and consultants engaged specifically for planning, design and implementation of the store opening

Ineligible Expenses 8

• Financing of regular operations
• Salaries tied to regular operations and day-to-day running of the business
• Charitable activities and payment of volunteer resources
• Debt payment or repayment of existing loans
• Replacement of existing government support or programs
• Expenses incurred or committed before the funding confirmation date (see note — the web page states before the substantially complete application filing date; the application form states before the City's confirmation of financial assistance)
• Any expense relocating the business or part of its production outside the Quebec City agglomeration, unless the City consents in writing
• The portion of GST and QST the recipient recovers from governments

Intake Periods

Continuous. The City states the funding stream has been open since August 27, 2025; the page was last updated July 8, 2026. There are no intake windows and no deadline. Contact the Service du développement économique before filing.

Deadline Notes

Rolling intake with no published deadline. The City states the funding stream has been open since August 27, 2025 and last updated the page July 8, 2026. What is time-sensitive is not a deadline but a sequence: expenses committed before the City confirms assistance are not eligible, and rent counts only if the lease was signed after the application was filed — so file before you sign anything. The City also warns that awards depend on available funds.

Ineligible Organizations

• Restaurants
• Vehicle dealers, auto-parts retailers and service stations
• Collaborative tourist accommodation operators (Airbnb, HomeAway and similar)
• Online-only businesses with no street-level premises
• Retailers affiliated with a national banner or a large distribution chain
• Franchises with more than five local establishments
• Businesses with more than 50 full-time-equivalent employees per establishment
• Service businesses other than a new business opening in a vacant unit
• Applicants not discharged from bankruptcy, or listed on the RENA public-contract ineligibility registry
• Applicants in default on prior Ville de Québec assistance, or with amounts outstanding to the City

Compatible Programs

Clawback Risk

Medium Risk

The City states: 'Si l'entreprise quitte le territoire ou cesse ses activités, des clauses de remboursement sont prévues selon la date de l'évènement' — repayment clauses apply if the business leaves the territory or ceases operations, scaled by when it happens. Given the program's purpose is to hold retail in specific districts, this is a real exposure for a business that may move within five years.