The Government of Quebec today announced a CA$50 million investment in Mont-Sainte-Anne, the crown jewel of Resorts of the Canadian Rockies eastern operations located near Quebec City. Under the deal, RCR will be required to invest an equal amount of private capital over the next five years. Half the government’s contribution will come as a forgiveable loan while the other half must be paid back with future revenue.
Mont-Sainte-Anne operates on provincial land under a 99 year lease inked in 1994. Since that time, Alberta-based RCR has installed just one new lift, the Panorama Express in 2013. The mountain suffered several lift incidents in recent years and many called on the province to terminate its lease and partner with a different operator. Groupe Le Massif and Compagnie des Montagnes de Ski du Quebec both expressed interest but the province concluded the current lease with Resorts of the Canadian Rockies should continue. One condition of the loan to RCR is periodic, independent safety audits.
A large chunk of the infusion is earmarked for new lifts characterized as “ultra modern.” Newspaper La Presse reported that the mountain’s 1989 Doppelmayr gondola, 1987 Doppelmayr detachable quad L’Express du Nord and 1986 Samson quad La Tortue will all be replaced. No specific timelines or lift types were shared but anything new will be a welcome upgrade. The main lodges and snowmaking system will be modernized and a mountain coaster installed. “Our government has chosen the best option to ensure the sustainability of the mountain, ensure safety for users and make this jewel of the Côte-de-Beaupré region once again,” said Kariane Bourassa, Member of Parliament for Charlevoix-Côte-de-Beaupré. “The $50 million invested by the Government of Quebec comes with clear conditions that RCR must respect. These investments will help restore the reputation of the resort, with new ski lifts and modernized infrastructure that will improve the customer experience while reducing energy consumption.”
Lift Blog 
Awesome news for Mont-Saint-Anne and RCR, hopefully, we see nice new lifts soon, although I’m confused as to why do they want to replace Tortue and not Express du Sud?
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Was wondering the exact same thing
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Express du Sud is also included. The confusion came from the fact that Tortue and Express du Sud will likely replaced by only one lift (bottom to top) instead of two lifts like is actually.
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Thanks, Sébastien, too bad for that cool bubble chair tho…
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RCR is almost as bad as Vail at operating resorts. Wish they brought it a better operator. MSA is a killer mountain.
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RCR is actually worst than Vail. At least Vail buys new lifts.
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I’m glad I am not a Quebec taxpayer, as I feel the forgivable loan portion is just encouraging other resorts to become dilapidated and looking for handouts as well. I would have much rather seen the full loan tied to an ongoing royalty of profits until full repayment, and have just the low or no interest be the only gift to the resort.
Hopefully they keep close tabs on lift maintenance as a condition of these loans. I am not a lift insider, but it seems like detachables are much less tolerant of neglect than their fixed grip counterparts, and RCR has seen more than the industry average of breakdowns and incidents.
I hope other operators don’t focus on short term profits while later looking to government to bail out long term neglect. Even a shiny new lift can give trouble if it doesn’t receive regular TLC.
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Hi LH,
You make a few points that were on my mind as I read this. This creates a ‘moral hazard’ in that it teaches others that this poor behaviour results in a good outcome.
My view of RCR is a company that just milks as much revenue / profit from an asset as they can. Nakiska is another great example of that. Hearing lots about private equity companies lately and how they work, I wonder if RCR is paying huge loans or interest payments on their assests? Not sure, but it would explain their behaviour.
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This sort of thing is quite common in Quebec. The province has also partially funded projects at Bromont, Massif du Sud and Le Massif, among others. It’s not unique to skiing. The government has invested more than $2 billion into Airbus Canada, which produces the A220 commercial airplane not far from Doppelmayr’s factory.
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Ahhhhh the a220, the a320, a319, a318 and 737-700 killer… All without turning a profit.
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its 100 million totsl.. equal parts
50 from RCR the othe 50 million from the government
they say so far .
new lifts more snow making and other upgrades
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