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St-Hubert sale to Swiss Chalet sparks quick reaction in Quebec

Quebec's homegrown chicken chain has been sold to Ontario's Cara Operations Ltd. for $537-million.

'It's as if Quebec is for sale under Philippe Couillard,' says Parti Québécois MNA Bernard Drainville

CBC News ·
Quebec-based St-Hubert has agreed to be acquired by Cara, the Ontario-based owner of the Swiss Chalet chain, for $537 million. (Radio-Canada)

St-Hubert BBQ will still maintain its full operations in Quebec after its sale to an Ontario company, but many in la belle province feel a sense of loss.  

The homegrown chicken chain has been sold to Cara Operations Ltd. for $537 million.

The Ontario company will not only get 117 restaurants, but two food manufacturing plants, two distribution centres and a real estate portfolio. 

Politicians react

"It's a sad day for Quebec," Parti Québécois Leader Pierre Karl Péladeau tweeted on Thursday morning soon after news broke of the chain's $537-million sale to Cara, the owner of the Swiss Chalet chain.

St-Hubert is known for its sauce, which it has been selling in grocery stores for decades. (St-hubert)
 Politicians and commentators quickly drew parallels with the takeover of another Quebec business institution, Rona, by U.S. home improvement chain Lowe's. 

"After Rona, it's as if Quebec is for sale under Philippe Couillard," the PQ's Bernard Drainville said on Twitter.

Yolande James, CBC Montreal's political analyst and a former provincial Liberal member of the National Assembly, said the St-Hubert sale isn't good news for the Liberal government.

"Every person, similar to the Rona dispute that occurred about a month ago, every Quebecer relates to St-Hubert," James told CBC's Daybreak.

François Legault, the leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec, described the St-Hubert sale as another Quebec jewel lost.

Legault criticized the provincial government, and said Quebec was becoming a branch plant economy.

St-Hubert's has been a part of Quebec since 1951. Here are some of its early delivery cars. (St. Hubert)
 "A quiet decline of the Quebec economy," Legault tweeted.

'I hope they don't ruin it'

Quebecers immediately took to Twitter to express their worries over the sale, with many wondering if it means the end of St-Hubert's famous gravy sauce.

Others wondered if it meant the Quebec landmark would disappear for good in favour of a Swiss Chalet takeover.

"The chicken dinner monopoly in Canada has now been solidified," one Twitter user wrote.

With files from the Canadian Press

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