MONTREAL — Quebec is maintaining a 25 per cent stake in the old C Series commercial jet program and at least 2,500 full-time jobs in the province by investing US$300 million more in the Airbus A220 aircraft.

Premier François Legault and Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced the investment Friday in Montreal.

By injecting more funds into the program, the government wants to avoid seeing its investment diluted by a next round of financing led by Airbus, which purchased the program from Bombardier Inc. in 2018.

Quebec's minority stake stemmed from its initial US$1 billion investment in the program in 2016. As of March 31, 2021, Investissement Québec estimated the value of this investment to be nil.

Airbus is investing an additional US$900 million to maintain its 75 per cent stake in the 110 to 130-seat plane assembled in Mirabel and Mobile, Ala.

Bombardier sold its remaining investment in the old C Series program in 2020, about two years after it shed a controlling stake in the program for $1.

“Today's announcement is significant for our aerospace industry," stated Legault.

"The company continued to rely on Quebec engineering to build one of the most promising aircraft in the world."

The French company had until 2026 to buy the government shares but the investment postpones the buyout until 2030.

Airbus does not expect the program to be profitable before 2025.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2022.

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The Canadian Press