Billions of public money to battery companies poorly planned, Quebec auditor says

Quebec’s auditor general says the provincial government showed poor planning in $2.2 billion of investments in various battery companies — many of which are now experiencing financial troubles.

The report released Wednesday by Christine Roy found that the investments by the Coalition Avenir Québec government lacked clear objectives and timelines.

Roy’s office analyzed 29 files related to 11 companies in the battery sector, representing approximately $2.2 billion in authorized financial assistance as of Sept. 30, 2025. 

About $1.9 billion of that money had been disbursed as of that time.

“This initiative is based on a poorly planned approach,” Roy wrote. “Indeed, certain essential elements, such as objectives and timelines, which would have helped to achieve results, were omitted.”

The risks associated with the different projects were “not adequately analyzed or documented,” Roy wrote. “However, in most cases, these were significant risks.” 

In a news conference, she said this included failing to adequately assess risks related to the financial situation of the companies applying for assistance.

The auditor noted that four of the 11 companies have filed for creditor protection, while two others have suspended or abandoned their projects. Three others have had their costs increase significantly.

The companies analyzed include electric vehicle-maker Lion Electric as well as battery manufacturer Northvolt, whose parent company in Sweden went bankrupt in March 2025.

Quebec announced a strategy to help foster a domestic battery industry in October 2020. It came in a context of international competition between governments trying to entice new companies to set up in their jurisdictions, the report noted.

The province’s Economy Department provided a response, included in the report, saying its investments in battery companies had triggered an estimated loss of $375 million as of March.

The government’s response also noted that the auditor’s report only included a sampling of companies the government has invested in, and not the entire list. 

Roy confirmed that this was the case. However, she also said the losses could continue to rise. 

“It will depend on how the situation evolves for each of these companies, which are still under development,” she said. “Some have indeed experienced significant cost increases, so only time will tell if there are additional losses.”

Premier Christine Fréchette chose to distance herself from the decisions taken by her predecessor, François Legault, and by former energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon, who she also succeeded following his departure from politics in late 2024.

“I decided to follow the recommendation made by our colleague, and we ended up in a situation where we invested in two startups,” Fréchette told reporters. “I think it’s not necessarily up to the government to directly inject funds into startups. For me, it’s more important that we go through experts in the field.”

She also faced tough questions from the Official Opposition Liberals, who accused her party of having “thrown Quebecers’ money out the window.”

“They spent hundreds and hundreds of millions without even developing a financial framework,” Liberal parliamentary leader André Fortin said in question period.

“I would like to remind everyone that 95 per cent of the losses related to the battery sector are linked to two cases, two business projects: Northvolt and Lion,” she said. “And these are two business projects for which I put a stop to the injection of public funds, because we had committed to this project with too great an exposure to risk.”

Bernard Drainville, the current economy minister, said the province was putting new risk management mechanisms in place to ensure the government is “even more rigorous.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2026.

Thomas Laberge, The Canadian Press