PSCE Volet 2 — Diversification et consolidation hors Québec

Insider Tip

The intake windows for each geographic destination are typically only 10–15 days — missing the window means waiting for the next one (often months away). Set calendar reminders for the seasonal windows and ensure your project budget and documentation are pre-assembled before the window opens. For the commercial representative hiring stream, the rep must be a genuinely new position at the company (not an existing employee relocated abroad); document this clearly. Professional fees for external consultants are capped at $25,000 per project — budget the remainder as salary, market research, and trade event expenses. Businesses that have submitted 2+ previous applications see their reimbursement rate drop to 40% and then 25%, so maximize the 50% first-project rate with a comprehensive budget.

Success Profile

A Quebec SME in manufacturing, technology, or food and beverage with revenues of $1M–$15M and an established product or service ready to export. Best-fit applicants already have some export intent — perhaps inquiries from outside Quebec or an existing client in another Canadian province — and want to dedicate a resource (commercial rep or market study) to properly develop that market. First-time exporters benefit most from the 50% rate.

Evaluation Criteria

Investissement Québec reviews applications for compliance with program rules and merit. Key factors: clarity of the export strategy and target market rationale, credibility and completeness of the budget, alignment between the proposed activities and the approved eligible expense categories, and evidence of Quebec headquarters and autonomous revenue. Projects are assessed individually rather than ranked competitively within the intake window, subject to budget availability.

Application Steps

Required Documents 8

Eligible Expenses 10

• Salary for a new full-time commercial representative hired for a foreign market (eligible for up to 52 weeks; one new hire per company for the entire program duration; excludes bonuses and benefits)
• Professional fees for export advisory services (maximum $25,000 per project, excluding travel)
• Short-term rental of exhibition or prospecting space outside Quebec
• Purchase of market studies or database access for target markets
• Testing and analysis fees for certifications enabling export to target markets
• Merchandise transport and shipping of samples or promotional materials
• Trade event registration fees and exhibitor passes
• Advertising and digital marketing for foreign markets (maximum $10,000 per project)
• Business networking platform subscriptions for export markets
• Purchase of foreign standards documents required for certification

Ineligible Expenses 6

• Travel and accommodation expenses for external consultants
• Bonuses, benefits, and non-salary compensation for the commercial representative
• Costs of existing employees who are not in a newly created export position
• Activities targeting markets within Quebec
• General overhead and administrative costs
• Costs incurred before the application submission date

Intake Periods

Discrete intake windows by geographic destination — approximately 10–15 days per window, multiple windows per year. Spring 2026: Canadian territory (Jan 15–29, 2026), Europe (Jun 15–29, 2026). Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 windows for other regions to be announced. The government may suspend intakes without notice if budget is exhausted.

Deadline Notes

PSCE Volet 2 opens in multiple discrete intake windows per year organized by geographic destination (e.g., Canada-outside-Quebec, USA, Europe, Asia). The Europe stream for spring 2026 is June 15–29, 2026. Canadian territory stream ran January 15–29, 2026. Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 windows for other regions are to be confirmed — monitor investquebec.com or subscribe to IQ communications. The program may suspend applications without notice if budget is exhausted.

Open Application Portal →

Ineligible Organizations

• Non-profit organizations without autonomous economic activity above 40% of revenues
• Businesses in agriculture, forestry, mining, utilities, construction, retail (under $5M revenue), telecom, finance, insurance, real estate, education, healthcare, hospitality, or public administration
• Businesses headquartered outside Quebec
• Businesses with revenues below $1M or above $50M
• Businesses already past their maximum eligible funding rate (>3 prior PSCE projects)

Compatible Programs

Clawback Risk

Medium Risk

Moderate risk. Disbursement is conditional on project completion and submission of invoices within 30 days of completion. If the commercial representative position is terminated before the funded period ends, proportional recovery of salary subsidy may apply. IQ retains audit rights for 7 years; misrepresented costs or ineligible expenses will be clawed back.