Quebec boosts SODEC for digital creators

Summary#

This Quebec law updates the province’s cultural funding agency, SODEC, to better support today’s cultural businesses, including digital creators. It refreshes SODEC’s tools, governance, and advisory bodies, and formally adds “digital creativity” to its mission.

• Expands SODEC’s financial tools (loans, guarantees, investments, grants, and income-based repayable aid).
• Lets SODEC create subsidiaries (companies it owns) to carry out its activities, with limits and approvals for big stakes.
• Requires SODEC to set an investment policy with clear goals, risk limits, and expected returns that at least match the government’s borrowing rate (for investments outside aid programs).
• Allows SODEC to charge fees for its services.
• Adds a Digital Creativity Commission and a board member with digital expertise; renames the Audiovisual Council as the Audiovisual Commission.
• Streamlines governance (board decisions by simple majority, clearer rules for vacancies and committees) and widens who can sit on commissions.
• Takes effect December 12, 2025; the Digital Creativity Commission must be set up by June 12, 2026.

What it means for you#

• Workers and businesses in culture (film, music, books, games, design, festivals, crafts)

  • More types of funding are possible: loans, guarantees (a promise to repay if you cannot), investments, grants, and aid you repay only if you earn enough revenue.
  • SODEC can tailor support to your stage of growth and offer coaching.
  • You may face service fees, commitment fees, or professional fees when using SODEC services.
  • SODEC can ask for security (collateral) or other protection if a project is risky.

• Digital creators (video games, XR, interactive media, digital arts)

  • Your sector is now named in SODEC’s mission.
  • A new Digital Creativity Commission will advise SODEC, and a digital expert joins SODEC’s board. This may lead to programs that fit your needs.

• Applicants for SODEC funding

  • If you do not meet your funding conditions, SODEC can suspend or end support, change terms (for example, payment schedules), or take other steps to protect public funds.
  • Large equity stakes or takeovers by SODEC and its subsidiaries need government or minister approval; smaller stakes (up to $1 million) may not.
  • Until the government sets a new threshold, deals over $4 million to buy or sell shares or assets generally need approval.

• Industry partners and investors

  • SODEC can create subsidiaries to co-invest or manage funds for specific goals, which could make partnerships simpler.
  • SODEC aims for long-term returns at least equal to the government’s borrowing rate (outside aid programs), signaling a more “investment-like” approach for some files.

• Citizens and taxpayers

  • The law seeks to safeguard public money by setting risk limits, return targets, and approval rules for large deals.
  • Advisory commissions must be consulted on financial aid programs in their fields, which may improve fit with cultural needs.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

• Modern tools: More flexible funding (including investments and guarantees) can match what creative firms actually need at different stages.
• Digital boost: Naming digital creativity and creating a dedicated commission brings a fast-growing sector into the fold and improves program design.
• Financial discipline: An investment policy, risk limits, and return targets protect public funds while still supporting culture.
• Better service: Subsidiaries can speed up deals, attract partners, and tailor solutions without remaking SODEC itself.
• Clearer governance: Simpler board rules, broader expertise on commissions, and the ability to charge fees can make service faster and more sustainable.

Opponents' View#

• Affordability: New fees and a tilt toward loans or investments could burden small or early-stage artists who rely on grants.
• Mission drift: Return targets and risk limits may push SODEC toward safer, more commercial projects, leaving out niche or experimental work.
• Oversight and complexity: Subsidiaries and equity stakes can be harder for the public to track; approvals for big deals may still slow action.
• Representation: Dropping requirements for certain senior roles and the activity plan could reduce transparency or sector-specific leadership.
• Funding certainty: Stronger powers to suspend or change funding terms may create uncertainty for projects already underway.