Quebec is a large plumbing market with its own rules, and the first one is language. A Quebec plumbing company competing in Montréal, Laval, Longueuil, Québec City, Gatineau or Sherbrooke has to market in French first. Everything else, from local SEO and paid search to a phone-first website, builds on that. Quebec engagements are scoped individually, because the language work changes the size of the job.
French first
The answer first: under the Charter of the French Language, French must be clearly predominant in commercial advertising. Any website or social account aimed at customers in Quebec has to offer its content in French, though other languages can sit beside it. The Office québécois de la langue française publishes guidance for businesses.
For plumbing marketing, that touches everything:
- the website, including service pages, area pages and terms,
- Google Business Profile descriptions, services and posts,
- Google Ads and Microsoft Ads copy and extensions,
- review request messages and replies,
- truck wraps, door hangers and printed materials.
You can add English alongside, which matters in parts of Montréal and the Outaouais, but French leads. We don't publish machine translation. French copy is written or reviewed by qualified writers, and your proposal states who.
Licensing you can point customers to
Quebec licenses contractors through the Régie du bâtiment du Québec. The RBQ's page on work requiring a licence explains when a licence is needed, and it points to a public licence holders' repertory where anyone can look up a contractor or licence number.
That repertory is a marketing asset. Showing your RBQ licence number on the website and profile, with a link to the lookup, gives a cautious customer an easy way to check you. We only display what you confirm, and we don't interpret licence classes.
Montréal and Laval
Greater Montréal is the province's biggest and most competitive plumbing market. The playbook is similar to other big metros, adjusted for language:
- campaigns split by area (the island's boroughs, Laval, the South Shore) and by job type,
- separate French and English ad groups where you serve both, each with its own landing page,
- search-term reviews in both languages, since negatives have to be built twice.
Québec City and the regions
Québec City, Lévis and Saguenay are mostly French-language markets where reputation and local presence carry weight. A full French profile with recent reviews and a website in natural Quebec French often beats a bigger ad budget. Gatineau sits beside Ottawa, so expect competitors from both sides of the river and customers who search in either language.
Quebec's winters are cold, snowy and long, especially outside the St. Lawrence lowlands. We time seasonal pushes from your own call history rather than assumptions.
A worked number for a bilingual account
An illustration, not a client result. A Laval company runs French and English campaigns on $3,600 a month. French ads produce 61 calls and 29 booked jobs; English ads produce 14 calls and 6 booked jobs. Cost per booked job is roughly the same in both, about $103. The English budget is still worth keeping, but it shouldn't grow beyond the share of customers who actually search in English. The cost-per-booked-job guide explains the method.
Reviews and replies in two languages
Quebec customers write reviews in French, in English and sometimes in both. A good routine answers each one in the language it was written in, with the same care. We prepare reply guidelines and templates in both languages, reviewed by a qualified French writer, so your responses don't read like translations. Review request messages follow the same rule: French by default, with English available for customers who prefer it. Asking every customer, with no screening and no incentives, applies here exactly as it does everywhere else.
How we'd approach Quebec
- Confirm the language plan and who writes French copy.
- Display your RBQ licence accurately and link the lookup.
- Build French-first pages, profile content and ads.
- Report monthly by language and area.
Our fees for Quebec clients carry 5% GST plus 9.975% QST. See pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need a French website to market in Quebec?
If you market to Quebec customers, your website and social content need to be available in French, and French must be predominant in commercial advertising. The OQLF explains the obligations. Other languages can appear alongside French.
Do you write French copy?
Quebec work is scoped individually. French content has to be written or reviewed by qualified French writers, and we confirm in your proposal who does that and how. We don't run machine-translated pages.
What tax applies to your fees in Quebec?
5% GST plus 9.975% QST as of October 2026.