www.cirquefascination.com: Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard appealed to the CEO of Cirque du Soleil on Thursday to keep the company’s headquarters in Montreal, even if the circus ends up being sold.
“I want to issue a particular appeal to Guy Laliberté, who is the main shareholder in this transaction,” Couillard said.
“I want to tell him that for Quebecers, for the government and for all political parties represented here, it is very important not only that the headquarters remains in Montreal but that the creative activities should also remain in Montreal.”
2 comments:
I'm going to preface this by mentioning that this is probably just my selfish American coming out, but while I see that there are a lot of reasons for Cirque to stay in Quebec, there are also a ton of reasons for them to move. For one, Cirque is a French company. It has always be a French-Canadian company, and it will always be a French-Canadian-founded company. I can see why moving away from Quebec would be somewhat devastative to the economy of the area. However, I disagree with the idea that moving away from Quebec would remove the idea that Quebec is on the map because of Cirque. I think anyone that knows Quebec for Cirque will continue to know Quebec for Cirque, simply because of the fact that thats the way that the company was founded.
There are a lot of benefits involved with changing locations. For one, the best time to do it would be during a change in ownership. It would remove a lot of the criticism involved with changing locations during Guy's reign off of Guy, and it would also draw attention to the new owner, thus drawing publicity. Additionally, there will probably be a lot of hiring changes in the first place, as this generally tends to take place during a change in ownership, especially from a 90% sale of the company.
It'll be interesting to see what route is taken here.
It is easy to see how something as original and unique as Cirque could become so immeshed in the identity of a city or region, as it has with Quebec. But to be honest, the "international calling card" argument seems a little invalid (or at least in my case it does). I knew that Cirque was based in Quebec, but I never actively associated Cirque with Quebec. To this end, I also believe that moving Cirque headquarters and actively seeking international partners could really add new dimensions both creatively and in terms of audience to the company.
But I also don't see incredible harm in - even if the majority of the company is bought up by a non-Quebecer - leaving the headquarters situated in Quebec. Obviously a primary concern would be for Quebec's economy, and changes that would effect the regions employment. But the company is from Quebec, and I think retaining a sense of identity would truly benefit Cirque.
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