archived
Last Update: March 4, 2026
Funding available
$ 50,000
Timeline
- Archived
Location
Quebec City, Capitale-Nationale, Quebec, Canada
Overview
Défi-Québec, Sustainable City, provides grants to support projects promoting sustainable development and eco-responsible practices within businesses with a focus on areas such as reducing greenhouse gases, circular economy, and sustainable production. Eligible activities include energy recovery in urban agriculture and the creation of innovative eco-friendly products, with specific conditions such as location and industry sector determining eligibility; however, the maximum funding amount isn’t specified.
/100
Opportunity Score
Moderate potential, but conditions must align.
At a glance
Funding available
Financing goals
- Develop a new product or service
- Complete an acquisition or business transfer
- Reduce environmental footprint
Eligible Funding
- Maximum amount : 50,000 $
Timeline
- Archived
Eligible candidates
Eligible Industries
- Manufacturing
- Transportation and warehousing
- Finance and insurance
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
Location
- Quebec City
- Capitale-Nationale
- Quebec
Legal structures
- For-profit business
- Sole proprietorship
- Social economy enterprise
- Non-financial cooperative
Annual revenue
- All revenue ranges
Organisation size
- All organization sizes
Audience
- All groups
Next Steps
1
Determine your project
2
Validate your eligibility
Activities funded
- A non-profit organization (NPO) operating an urban greenhouse implements an energy recovery project.
- A food processing company offering healthy products launches a project to recover unsold produce from market gardening businesses to upcycle it.
- A manufacturing company, with a supply chain mostly based in Quebec, starts producing an innovative and eco-friendly new product.
Eligibility
Who is eligible?
- Incorporated private companies with significant sales over 36 months ago.
- Social economy enterprises (NPO and co-op) engaged in primarily commercial activities.
- Individual enterprises and general partnerships majority-owned by Indigenous individuals on Wendake territory.
- Businesses in agri-food, food processing, and healthy foods.
- Companies in digital arts, interactive entertainment, and financial technologies.
- Enterprises involved in optics-photonics, measurement and control technologies, and advanced electronics.
- Organizations in life sciences, biotechnology, and health technologies.
- Firms specializing in clean technologies: water, air, soil treatment, ecomobility, energy efficiency, renewable energies, and green chemistry.
- Social economy enterprises across all sectors with over 40% self-generated revenue.
Who is not eligible
- Social economy enterprises (NPO and co-op) that cannot demonstrate sound democratic governance.
- Applicants not discharged from a bankruptcy judgment.
- Businesses listed in the Register of enterprises ineligible for public contracts.
- Applicants who, in the two years prior to the request, failed to meet obligations related to a previous grant from the City of Québec.
- Applicants with outstanding amounts owed to the City of Québec.
- Projects of a discriminatory nature, involving controversy, or posing a negative image risk for the City of Québec.
- One-off projects of an event-driven nature.
Eligible expenses
- Professional fees, consulting services, and studies.
- Expenses necessary for the implementation of the project.
- Salaries for human resources assigned to the project at a rate equivalent to that paid by the beneficiary according to its salary policy, upon presentation of a resolution from its board of directors indicating the amount allocated for the project's execution and any relevant supporting documents.
- Purchases or rentals of goods, equipment, and assets related to the project.
- Marketing, promotion, and advertising activities and costs.
- General and administrative expenses necessary for the project's realization.
- Expenses for leasehold improvements, refurbishment, expansion, renovation, or construction of a building, including the acquisition of land or property.
Eligible geographic areas
- Agglomeration of Québec, including the cities of Québec, Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, and L’Ancienne-Lorette.
- Wendake.
Additional information
- If the company leaves the territory or ceases its activities, reimbursement clauses apply depending on the date of the event.
Contacts
Frequently Asked Questions about the Défi-Québec, Sustainable City Program
Here are answers to the most common questions about the Défi-Québec, Sustainable City. This section explains what the program is, how much funding is available, eligibility requirements, application deadlines, and other important details to help you determine if this grant is right for your business.
What is the Défi-Québec, Sustainable City?
Défi-Québec, Sustainable City, provides grants to support projects promoting sustainable development and eco-responsible practices within businesses with a focus on areas such as reducing greenhouse gases, circular economy, and sustainable production. Eligible activities include energy recovery in urban agriculture and the creation of innovative eco-friendly products, with specific conditions such as location and industry sector determining eligibility; however, the maximum funding amount isn’t specified.
How much funding can be received?
Défi-Québec, Sustainable City Funds up to $50,000 of admissible expenses.
Who is eligible for the Défi-Québec, Sustainable City program?
To be eligible for the Défi-Québec, Sustainable City program, you must:
Eligible businesses must have had their first significant sale more than thirty-six (36) months before the application deadline.
Eligible applicants include incorporated private companies and social economy enterprises primarily engaged in commercial activities.
Individual enterprises and general partnerships held in majority by Indigenous persons located on the Wendake territory are eligible.
What expenses are eligible under Défi-Québec, Sustainable City?
A non-profit organization (NPO) operating an urban greenhouse implements an energy recovery project.
A food processing company offering healthy products launches a project to recover unsold produce from market gardening businesses to upcycle it.
A manufacturing company, with a supply chain mostly based in Quebec, starts producing an innovative and eco-friendly new product.
Who can I contact for more information about the Défi-Québec, Sustainable City?
You can contact Quebec City by email at defiquebec@ville.quebec.qc.ca or by phone at 4186416411.
Where is the Défi-Québec, Sustainable City available?
The Défi-Québec, Sustainable City program is available Capitale-Nationale, Quebec.
Is the Défi-Québec, Sustainable City a grant, loan, or tax credit?
Défi-Québec, Sustainable City is a Grant and Funding