Quebec invests $5 million in first local baby carrot plant in the province

Quebec Premier Francois Legault said the province will invest $5 million in its first baby carrot plant.

The government of Quebec will invest $5 million to help build a new packaging and processing plant that will produce baby carrots — the first of its kind in the province.

Premier François Legault made the announcement in Saint-Patrice-de-Sherrington on Thursday.

The investment will support the nearly $25 million project by FMS Fresh Produce and enable the construction of a new 70,000-square-foot plant in Sherrington, which is set to begin operations this summer.

Quebec Premier François Legault tours the current FMS Fresh Produce plant in Sherrington, Que. Quebec Premier François Legault tours the current FMS Fresh Produce plant in Sherrington, Que.

The premier said the financing is a loan, with no repayment required for the first three years to give the company time to get established.

“What I’m especially pleased about is that we’ll finally have a producer of what we call baby carrots, or mini carrots,” Legault said.

“This is important because in Quebec, 33 per cent of carrot sales are baby carrots—and we don’t have a single producer.”

Baby carrots Baby carrots will now be produced in Quebec. (Larry Crowe / The Associated Press) (LARRY CROWE/The Associated Press)

According to the government, Quebec currently imports 100 per cent of its baby carrots from the U.S.

The premier noted that in light of the current trade war with the U.S., it was important for the province to locally produce baby carrots in order to meet consumer demand.

He also took the opportunity to encourage Quebecers to continue buying locally made products.

“It’s more important than ever, especially with Donald Trump threatening to block exports to the U.S.—in effect, harming our businesses,” Legault continued.

Desjardins is also contributing $17 million in financing to the project, part of which is guaranteed by Export Development Canada.

Legault also announced the government’s new ad campaign: En Achetant Québécois On Ne Se Trump Pas a play on words that loosely translates to: When you buy Quebec-made, you don’t get Trumped.

The first bags of baby carrots will hit grocery stores this summer, the premier said.

Plus que jamais, l’achat québécois est important pour nos entreprises et pour nos régions.

À l’épicerie, on recherche les Aliments du Québec.
Dans les commerces, on achète des produits d’ici.
Cet été, on appuie notre industrie touristique en voyageant chez nous.
Et on choisit… pic.twitter.com/5dNNdYqcFI

— François Legault (@francoislegault) April 9, 2025