The federal and Quebec governments are spending close to $100 million to boost the country’s manufacturing capacity for semiconductors, which are vital in technologies ranging from artificial intelligence to quantum computing.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters today in Bromont, Que., that Ottawa will invest $59.9 million to help fund IBM Canada’s semiconductor packaging facility in the town about 70 kilometres southeast of Montreal.

He says the investment will also go toward the Bromont-based MiQro Innovation Collaborative Centre, a research group that tries to speed up the commercialization of components in digital technologies.

Quebec, for its part, is offering IBM Canada $38.9 million in loans to help the company buy equipment, increase capacity at its Bromont plant, and create a new generation of switches.

A news release from the federal government says the funding from both levels of government will help create 280 jobs in the region.

IBM Canada says its plant in Bromont is one of the continent’s largest chip assembly and testing facilities and that the money will solidify Canada’s place in the supply chain for advanced packaging of semiconductors.

– This report by The Canadian Press was first published on April 26, 2024.