Quebec: most important thing is Bombardier head office stays in Montreal

(Reuters) - Quebec Economy Minister Jacques Daoust, asked about news that talks between Bombardier Inc and Airbus had broken off, said that the most important issue for him is that the company's head office remains in Montreal.

"Look at the ownership of Quebec crown jewels that are listed on the stock exchange," he told reporters in Quebec City. "You are going to realize that they are not majority-held by Quebecers."

Daoust said Quebec stood ready to help Bombardier but that the company had not requested financial assistance for the CSeries jet program.

Bombardier, which has piled on debt developing its new CSeries jet. Reuters reported on Tuesday that the company had offered a majority stake in the troubled program to Airbus.

(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal; Writing by Allison Martell; Editing by Amran Abocar)