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The Green Ledger · Part 4

The Monopoly and Its Owners

Published 5 June 2026·5 min read

PUBLICITÉ – LE GRAND LIVRE VERT, PARTIE 4

The Monopoly and Its Owners

Quebec’s dominant gas distributor is wholly owned by two public institutional investors. The regulator sets the rates those owners earn.

Parts 1, 2, and 3 of this series established what flows through the Quebec gas network, what Énergir extracted from a transborder fossil pipeline before selling it in 2024, and how far short the regulated renewable gas targets have fallen.

This part addresses a structural question the public record now permits us to ask. Who owns the dominant gas distributor in Quebec, and on whose behalf is the regulator regulating. The answer is no longer the cross-border holding structure that existed for two decades. Since January 2022, it is two Quebec institutional investors. The retirement savings of Quebecers and the union savings of Quebec workers.

And here is what the public record shows.

  1. Énergir is the regulated dominant gas distributor in Quebec Énergir distributes approximately 97 percent of the natural gas consumed in the province. The network covers over 10,000 kilometres of pipeline. Énergir reports approximately 205,000 customers in Quebec and approximately 535,000 customers in total across Quebec and the northeastern United States, with total assets over $9 billion. Source La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec corporate communications.

  2. Since January 18, 2022, Énergir has been entirely Quebec-owned On June 7, 2021, Trencap L.P. agreed to acquire Enbridge’s remaining 38.89 percent stake in Noverco for $1.14 billion. The transaction closed on December 30, 2021. On January 18, 2022, CDPQ announced it had consolidated its position in Trencap, reaching 80.9 percent. Fonds de solidarité FTQ holds the remaining 19.1 percent. Énergir is now an entirely Quebec-owned company.

  3. The ownership chain is short and entirely public Énergir L.P. The parent company is Noverco Inc. Noverco is owned by Trencap L.P. Trencap is owned 80.9 percent by CDPQ and 19.1 percent by Fonds de solidarité FTQ. The two institutional owners have a combined statutory mandate that includes growing the value of public pension and union savings, and contributing to Quebec’s economic development.

  4. In September 2024, the two owners injected an additional combined $575 million CDPQ and Fonds de solidarité FTQ together committed an additional $575 million to Énergir to support its decarbonization strategy. This is on top of the position established in January 2022. Source CDPQ press release of September 2024 titled “CDPQ and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ make additional investment in Énergir to accelerate its decarbonization.”

  5. The Régie de l’énergie regulates the rates the two owners earn Énergir’s rates, supply plans, and contracts with affiliated entities are decided by the Régie de l’énergie under chapter R-6.01. The rate base on which Énergir earns its regulated return, the supply costs Énergir is permitted to recover from customers, and the rules under which Énergir contracts with related parties are all matters decided by the Régie. The financial return that follows from those decisions flows up the ownership chain to CDPQ and Fonds de solidarité FTQ.

  6. The CEO came from CDPQ Éric Lachance has served as President and CEO of Énergir since January 1, 2020. From February 2000 to December 2016, sixteen years, he worked at CDPQ. His final three years at CDPQ were as Regional Director Europe at CDPQ’s Paris subsidiary, where he represented CDPQ on the boards of Fluxys Belgium, Colonial Pipeline, Keolis, and Heathrow Airport. He joined Énergir as Vice President Finance in January 2017, was promoted to Senior Vice President and CFO in June 2018, and to President and CEO on January 1, 2020. Source Énergir corporate governance page and CDPQ appointment press release of January 9, 2018.

  7. CDPQ holds a seat on the Énergir board Jean-Christophe Lincourt-Éthier, Senior Director Infrastructure at CDPQ with responsibility for CDPQ’s North American energy and transportation infrastructure investments, sits on the Énergir board of directors. Source Énergir board of directors page.

  8. Énergir also operates across the border Énergir owns Vermont Gas Systems, the sole gas distributor in the state of Vermont. Énergir also owns Green Mountain Power, the dominant electricity distributor in Vermont, serving approximately 70 percent of Vermont residents. The same ownership structure that owns Énergir in Quebec, CDPQ at 80.9 percent and Fonds de solidarité FTQ at 19.1 percent, sits behind both Vermont entities.

How Quebec's regulated gas monopoly is owned

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, 80.9%, and Fonds de solidarité FTQ, 19.1%
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Trencap L.P., owns 100% of Noverco
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Noverco Inc., owns 100% of Énergir
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Énergir L.P., general partner Énergir Inc.
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Regulated distributor of roughly 97% of the natural gas consumed in Quebec

This is the structure. A regulated near-monopoly that touches almost every Quebec home, farm, and business connected to the gas network is owned by two public institutional investors whose mandates include growing the value of public retirement savings and union savings.

That is not a hidden fact. It is announced on La Caisse’s own website. It is recorded in Énergir’s own corporate disclosure. It is referenced in Vermont regulatory filings. It is the public structure of the company.

What the public has not yet been invited to consider is what this structure means for the regulator’s posture. When the Régie de l’énergie sets the rate that a near-monopoly charges Quebec customers and the supply plan under which that monopoly recovers its costs, the financial return that follows from those decisions flows back to two public funds. The same public whose savings benefit from the higher return is also the public that pays the rate.

The Quebec public is entitled to ask the question that follows from the structure.

Who is the regulator regulating, and on whose behalf.

Paul Sauvé
agriculteur GNR Shefford
argentpublic.org

This is Part 4 of Le Grand Livre Vert. Further parts will follow. You may read the entire series on the website.

References and sources. La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec press release of January 18, 2022 titled CDPQ increases its stake in Énergir, making the company entirely Québec-owned. Enbridge press release of December 30, 2021 confirming sale of its 38.89 percent Noverco interest for $1.14 billion. CDPQ press release of September 2024 on the additional $575 million joint investment with Fonds de solidarité FTQ. CDPQ press release of January 9, 2018 announcing Éric Lachance’s appointment at Énergir. Énergir corporate governance, management team, and board of directors pages, energir.com. Énergir Inc. consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2023, filed via SEDAR+. Vermont Public Utility Commission filings on Vermont Gas Systems and Green Mountain Power ownership. Régie de l’énergie of Quebec, chapter R-6.01. All data drawn from publicly accessible sources. This content was produced by GNR Shefford. The editorial teams of the publishing newspapers did not participate in its production.