Industry News
Over the last two years, a new investment group headed by French businessman Christian Mars has stirred up the Quebecois ski industry. “La Compagnie des montagnes de ski du Québec”—known as The Quebec Mountain Ski Company in English—has quietly acquired two resorts in the last two years and is finalizing a deal to take over operations of another resort in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region. The company is a subsidiary of the Swiss group e-Liberty Services, made up of Franco-Swiss investors who already operate three resorts in Europe. The French businessman lives in the French-speaking canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, where his company e-Liberty Services—a tech company specializing in ski ticket sales—is also headquartered.
Since 2023, The Quebec Mountain Ski company has acquired Mont Lac-Vert in Hébertville, Mont Grand-Fonds in La Malbaie, and is set to take control of operations at Mont Edouard in the coming months. Operations at these resorts seem to be going well early on, especially for Mont Grand Fonds, which, according to Le Journal du Quebec, recorded $1 million of profit last season along with the grand opening of a new high-speed six-pack chairlift.
With this early success, Christian Mars has his eyes set on acquiring more resorts in the future. He has already expressed interest in Mont Adstock in the Chaudière-Appalaches region, as well as Mont Sainte Anne and Stoneham near Quebec City. While the ownership of Mont Adstock has shown interest, the same thing cannot be said for RCR, the owner of Mont Sainte Anne and Stoneham. Resorts of the Canadian Rockies has confirmed that the two resorts are not for sale, which is the same answer they gave Daniel Gauthier, the owner of Le Massif, when he offered to buy the resort back in 2022.
Understandably, Quebec locals have voiced their skepticism towards a big foreign investment group coming into their province and buying up local resorts. Christian Mars, however, has been quick to point out that he cares a lot about the region, as he owns a residence in the Charlevoix region, where he lives when he is not in Switzerland. Mars has also pointed to his great relationship with Michel Couturier, the mayor of La Malbaie, who Mars says refers to him as “Santa Claus” as a result of the investments made at Mont Grand Fond.
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Christian Mars has stated that his goal is to invest in and unite ski resorts in Quebec under a single pass. A pass like this does not exist in the region yet and would be a game-changer for both locals and international visitors looking to ski multiple resorts on one pass. Mars has set up a similar plan for Switzerland and has set out to acquire multiple resorts in the Wallis/Valais region. However, residents in German-speaking Belalp and Saas-Grund blocked his bids to acquire majority stakes.
Given their early success with investments the group has put into resorts like Mont Grand Fond and Mont Edouard, it is easy to say that Christian Mars’ bold ambitions look promising. As the group continues to invest in underdeveloped resorts, it will be interesting to see if Santa Claus can turn the province into an international destination for skiing in the future.
