Daniel Rotman
Executive Director
Published on
Members of the Quebec Circular Economy Consultation Hub are calling on all political parties to make specific commitments ahead of the next election
The parliamentary session has officially ended in Québec City, and a new election campaign is about to begin. We, the undersigned members of the Quebec Circular Economy Consultation Hub, are calling on every political party to commit to maintaining, renewing and strengthening the 2024–2028 Government Roadmap for the Circular Economy.¹
This commitment should transcend partisan politics. Quebec has established its first coherent government framework for transitioning from an economy that extracts, consumes and discards resources too quickly to one that designs and uses products more effectively, repairs and shares them, recovers their value, and preserves the value of resources circulating within its territory.
The facts speak for themselves. The 2025–2028 implementation plan includes 132 actions led by 21 government departments and agencies, representing potential financial leverage of more than $758 million. It targets critical sectors, including agri-food, construction, manufacturing, mining and energy. It also relies on essential tools: research and innovation, training, public procurement, legislative and financial frameworks, collaboration across value chains, government leadership and international action. This is not a catalogue of good intentions. It is an industrial, territorial and climate policy pathway adapted to the challenges of our time—including geopolitical ones.
In a world marked by trade instability, the growing scarcity of key resources, pressure on supply chains and strained public finances, the circular economy is a strategy for improved performance.
As global demand for resources continues to grow, increasing resource productivity is imperative. Among other benefits, some circularity strategies can supplement primary supply by keeping resources that have already been extracted in the economy for longer. Other strategies can reduce losses and waste, extend the useful life of goods, and strengthen the resilience of our businesses, municipalities and regions.
Purchasing power and access to goods
The circular economy is also closely connected to purchasing power and access to goods. Repairing rather than replacing, using products more efficiently, reducing food waste, and promoting pooling, sharing and reuse models are practical solutions for households and businesses alike.
Quebec must also strengthen international cooperation with the most advanced states and provinces. Several markets are already incorporating circularity, traceability, repairability and eco-design criteria.
To be a credible partner, Quebec must anticipate these standards, equip its businesses to meet them, showcase its expertise and build strategic alliances with the jurisdictions with which it seeks to collaborate.
Quebec already possesses major strengths: low-carbon energy, recognized scientific expertise, engaged municipalities, innovative businesses, a dynamic social economy and a strong culture of collaboration. These strengths will achieve their full potential only if the government maintains a clear, predictable and ambitious course.
We are therefore asking every political party to make three commitments: preserve the Government Roadmap; continue strengthening its implementation plan annually with adequate funding, regulations and support measures; and make the circular economy an explicit pillar of Quebec’s economic, industrial, climate, regional and international policies.
The next election must be an opportunity to build consensus: the circular economy is not a green add-on. It is a prerequisite for Quebec’s prosperity, autonomy and resilience.
Co-signatories:
Claude Maheux-Picard, Executive Director, Centre de transfert technologique en écologie industrielle (CTTEI); Daniel Normandin, Director, Centre d’études et de recherches intersectorielles en économie circulaire (CERIEC); Béatrice Alain, Executive Director, Chantier de l’économie sociale; Hélène Lauzon, President and CEO, Conseil patronal de l’environnement du Québec (CPEQ); Maryse Vermette, President and CEO, Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ); Véronique Proulx, President and CEO, Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ); Olivier Carrière, General Secretary, Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ); Andrew Henderson, Scientific Director, Réseau de recherche en économie circulaire du Québec (RRECQ); Marie-France Bellemare, Co-President, Réseau des entreprises d’économie sociale et circulaire du Québec (REESCQ); Anne Desautels, Technical Director, Réseau Environnement.
