The President and CEO, Éric Dubé, does not hide his enthusiasm: A lot of vegetables are imported from other regions, whether they come from Ontario, whether they come from other countries. We have the ability to do that here in Quebec, why not do it!

Serres Toundra, established in Lac-Saint-Jean since 2016, quickly captured 85% of the Quebec cucumber market. The company produces 100 million a year: English, Nordic and minis.

The owners of Serres Toundra have bet on a technology that gives very high yields. The company also obtained land from the neighboring company, Produits Forestiers Résolu. It uses the hot water produced by the Resolute turbines to heat part of its greenhouses. And it will soon be able to capture the carbon generated by the kraft pulp mill, process it, then inject it into its greenhouse complex, to promote photosynthesis and plant growth.

Éric Dubé has seen his production in greenhouses increase sharply.

Photo: Radio Canada

Serres Toundra now wants to diversify its production. It relies, among other things, on a crop that is not on the shelves: yellow greenhouse beans.

Quebec is thinking big

Greenhouse products from here, Quebec wants to see more of them on supermarket shelves. The COVID crisis has raised fears of a shortage of food and we want to increase the production area from 120 to 240 hectares.

Less than a year ago, the Legault government announced a program to achieve this goal. Financial assistance of $90 million will be used to modernize and expand greenhouses, large and small.

We provide for the reimbursement of 40% of the electricity bill, for investment projects of 3 million and more. Hydro-Québec's more powerful three-phase electrical network will be accessible to more producers thanks to 200 kilometers of new power lines. And all greenhouse growers will have access to reduced electricity rates for greenhouse lighting and heating.

Andre Gosselin

Photo: Radio Canada

This is exactly what the industry was looking for, says André Gosselin. Professor emeritus in horticulture at Laval University, he saw the birth of the first large greenhouse complexes in Quebec in the 1980s.

Co-founder of the Serres du St-Laurent, responsible for the commercial success of Savoura tomatoes, he now grows berries in greenhouses and under large tunnels on Île d'Orléans. He believes government assistance will benefit large companies, but also smaller ones like his that want to expand or start new production.

According to him, the electricity rate discounts offered for 8 years are particularly important. Artificial lighting, which is very expensive, is essential to produce 12 months a year and compete with the large complexes south of the border.

The importance of diversification

Sylvain Terreault has experienced the ups and downs of the Quebec greenhouse industry. He has been at the head of Hydroserre for 30 years. Hydroponic Boston lettuces made the company famous at home and on the American East Coast.

Sylvain Terreault checks the lettuces in the greenhouse.

Photo: Radio Canada

Hydroserre will benefit from the Quebec assistance program. In the summer of 2020, the greenhouse grower acquired the former Savoura tomato greenhouses in Portneuf. They will be redeveloped into a deep water culture system for lettuce. He also recently took the reins of Serres Lefort in Montérégie, a producer of organic peppers and cucumbers that was crumbling under debt. Fifteen additional hectares of greenhouses will be erected there.

Hydroserre wants to add organic tomatoes and fine herbs to its product line and develop new varieties of lettuce, romaine lettuce for example.

It’s about diversifying the offer and not putting all your eggs in one basket, underlines the businessman.

Innovation

Quebec greenhouse growers account for barely 30% of the market for greenhouse products consumed in the province. The president and CEO of the Association québécoise de la distribution de fruits et legumes believes that there is a great opportunity for small producers to develop new products, but especially the organic niche.

Sophie Perreault, CEO of the AQDFL.

Photo: Radio Canada

Charles Verdy is well aware of all this potential. President of the company Les Herbes Gourmandes, which produces fine herbs in pots, he is preparing to invest $10 million in the expansion of his facilities in Saint-Norbert in Lanaudière.

With just one hectare, he currently produces around thirty varieties of fine herbs and lettuces. He wants to produce more organic herbs and supply the entire Quebec market with herbs.

The greenhouse engineer also plans to automate part of his operations. He sees the future with optimism.

He's obviously not the only one. Acquisitions, modernization, expansions, the list of projects goes on with millions, even tens of millions of dollars.

André Gosselin says that we will also see new businesses set up, both from Quebec and abroad.

In the past, producers in the province have experienced financial difficulties and even declared bankruptcy. Today, the greenhouse industry is ready to kick into gear and is determined to take up more space on shelves...and in our grocery carts.

The report by France Beaudoin and Luc Rhéaume is broadcast on the program La Semaine verte on Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on ICI TÉLÉ. At ICI RDI, it will be Sunday at 8 p.m.