Canadian liquid gold maple syrup.

The Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve in Quebec

Responsible for more than 70% of global annual production, Canada is the world’s leading producer of maple syrup.
In particular, it is the region of Quebec that boasts this vocation: here the sirop d’érable employs over 12,000 people and 7,300 companies.

Maple syrup is not only a local but also a national pride, a fundamental part of Canadian culture. It is the natural wealth par excellence of the country, so important that it is also on the flag of Canada: it represents the nation itself.

A natural wealth that is worth protecting in a strategic reserve, known as the International Strategic Reserve (ISR).
Depending on the year, it can happen that production exceeds demand: several warehouses scattered throughout the region store the surplus barrels produced each year, which constitute the world’s supply of maple syrup.

The strategic reserve was established by the Federation of Maple Syrup Producers of Quebec (FPAQ), a kind of legal economic cartel that has existed since 1966 and that imposes restrictions and controls on associated producers with the aim of stabilising prices.

For many producers this is a system that works very well because it keeps prices low; however, not everyone agrees to comply with the rules imposed by the Federation and invoke freedom. The conflict between those who are proud of the Federation and those who would like a free market is precisely what created the precondition for the coup of the century.

The theft of the maple syrup century

On August 24, 2012, the Quebec Maple Syrup Federation reported that it had been the victim of a crime. It was a very unusual theft: a theft of maple syrup.
From a warehouse in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, 9,561 barrels worth over $18 million were stolen, the largest theft in Canadian history.

A special investigation team was established, with 250 officers involved and over 200 witnesses questioned. After months of work the discovery: the maple syrup had been racked; the barrels emptied had been partly filled with water, others left empty. The stolen syrup had then reached Vermont and New Brunswick Canada to be sold to distributors unaware of the origin.

In December of that year, seventeen people were arrested, of whom three were found guilty and sentenced to an exemplary sentenceRichard Vallières, the boss of the gang, to eight years in prison, the accomplice Avik Caron to five years and a fine of 1.2 million and Sébastien Jutras, the trucker who transported the stolen syrup, to eight months in prison.

Watch the Netflix series and you’ll start watching maple syrup differently!