Surprisingly for a place with a history inextricably linked to the St. Lawrence River, Quebec has never had a maritime strategy – a detailed, bankrolled framework for how to tap into the economic potential of its myriad waterways.

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard changed that in late June. Standing in Montreal’s cruise-ship terminal, overlooking the St. Lawrence, he unveiled an ambitious, $9-billion plan that aims to create 30,000 direct jobs over 15 years. That would more than double the number of people already employed by businesses that rely on the 1,200-kilometre St. Lawrence for shipping goods, fishing, shipbuilding and tourism.

Some critics call it a pie-in-the-sky job goal. But the announcement, which fulfils a key Liberal election promise, put the issue on the agenda – and shows local businesses that the Liberal government is serious.

That’s important because slightly less than half of the $9-billion plan will have to be bankrolled by industry. For now, Quebec has promised to spend $1.5 billion over five years. The goal, Couillard says, is for the province to become “the international gateway to eastern North America.”

To get there, Quebec already has some key assets. Montreal is the fifth-biggest port on the continent’s east coast, thanks especially to European shippers. The port’s location makes Quebec the shortest route between Europe and North America. As well, an extensive railway network can deliver goods to a huge market, as can a new bypass highway around Montreal.

But more and better infrastructure is needed, particularly if Quebec wants to cash in on several opportunities, Couillard says. These include the Canada-European Union free trade agreement, growth in emerging countries hungry for Canadian natural resources, access to a year-round northwest passage in the Arctic Ocean and the expansion of the Panama Canal.

Details of the plan include two new multimodal industrial port zones (one east and one west of Montreal) to attract businesses looking to build distribution centres. One such zone, near Contrecoeur, is already in the planning stages, but a location has not been found for the other in Vaudreuil-Soulanges.

New cruise-ship terminals in Montreal and Quebec City also are planned. The Montreal terminal is located on a pier built 114 years ago. Quebec has been pushing to become a major international cruise destination, with some success. The number of cruise passengers who come ashore annually has more than doubled to 260,000 over the past nine years.

Reconfiguration of traffic around the Port of Montreal also will be required. Announced several times by successive provincial governments but never funded, major work is desperately needed to help motorists and the truckers hauling goods to and from ships. The improvements should be a no-brainer: the port is an economic engine for Montreal and Quebec, employing 18,000 and handling $41 billion worth of merchandise every year.

Couillard’s voyage to maritime dominance will be a long one. His strategy includes long-discussed projects that became bogged down due to budget constraints and bickering with Ottawa. And even if funding is found this time around – by no means a certainty – it still will be 2030 before some of these projects are completed.

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