A years-long dream could become reality for the founder and CEO of Groupe Nordik, who is waiting to hear if his group of investors is successful in its bid to purchase the historic Fairmont Le Château Montebello.
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A years-long dream could become reality for the founder and CEO of Groupe Nordik, who is waiting to hear if his group of investors is successful in its bid to purchase the historic Fairmont Le Château Montebello.
Martin Paquette, who has submitted a bid for the property alongside Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer, Devcore Group president Jean-Pierre Poulin and two unnamed real estate entrepreneurs, said his personal connection with the property in western Quebec runs deep.
“For the last 20 years at Easter every year since my daughter was four, we went to Château Montebello to do the egg hunting and we went back at Christmas time,” Paquette told OBJ Tuesday. “Before I had a cottage, I considered Château Montebello like my cottage.”
Built in the 1930s, the log hotel was purchased by Chinese property developer China Evergrande Group in 2014. In 2024, the company was ordered by a court to liquidate its assets after incurring US$300 billion in liabilities with no plan to refinance.
The resort has been on the market since, with accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers overseeing the sale.
Paquette said he’s long been interested in the property and has previously explored investment opportunities associated with it.
“It started a couple of years ago,” he said. “I had a good relationship with the former GM Genevieve Dumas and we dreamed about rebuilding a spot at Château Montebello and maybe getting involved a little bit with the development of the property. That was maybe seven or eight years back. But that faded away.”
When the hotel was sold to Evergrande, Paquette said seeing it go to an international investor was like “when a family is losing a property.”
So about a year ago, when he heard that an all-Canadian team was being assembled to make an ownership bid, he said he couldn’t let the opportunity pass.
“The stars never really aligned until now,” he said. “I started to look at it again. We wanted to make sure we had the right partnership. Once Michael Andlauer got involved, I found the stars were finally aligning. That partnership made sense. We had a land developer, a builder, the vision and experience.”
In a statement to OBJ Tuesday regarding the bid, Andlauer said, "When I became the owner of the Ottawa Senators nearly three years ago, I immediately made it clear that I intended to get involved throughout the Ottawa-Gatineau region. Since then, I have been open to any opportunities to get involved in the Outaouais.”
Paquette, who has run Spa Nordik in Chelsea, Que., for the past 20 years, said he’s long admired the Fairmont brand and is confident he can bring a new vision for hospitality and visitor experience to the property.
While his connection to the resort is personal, Paquette said investment also makes sense from a business perspective.
“This property deserves to have Canadian owners, and if we could have local Canadian owners, it would be the best people with an emotional connection to the property,” he said. “I promised myself that I would never make an emotional investment, that investment has to stay rational. But I think there are great things to be done here. I think we have a great team. An icon like Montebello has to be handled well and with care. Everyone will benefit from it.”
Bids were presented in court Tuesday evening, but a decision on the successful bid has been delayed until June 22 while the receiver reviews the offers.
