Sylvain Parent-Bédard, President and Founder of ComediHa! and the new owner of Just For Laughs (acquired in June 2024) has announced that ComediHa! Fest-Québec will now operate under the Just For Laughs Festival - Quebec brand. This marks a new era for the comedy event in the city, where the head office of the Quebec entrepreneur’s new group is based.
“Last June, our group acquired the biggest comedy brand on the planet, Just For Laughs. I’m proud that the head office of the world’s number one comedy group will now be based in Quebec City. After careful thought and analysis, I decided that the Quebec City festival should bear the name of Quebec’s favourite comedy brand, Just For Laughs—the province’s favourite entertainment brand along with Cirque du Soleil” - Sylvain Parent-Bédard, President and CEO of Just For Laughs.
Quebec City now joins a prestigious global network of Just For Laughs venues that includes Sydney, Australia, Bermuda, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, along with other major international cities soon to be announced as part of the brand’s new strategic plan.
This latest addition helps solidify Quebec City’s position as a must-visit destination for comedy, reinforced by the exceptional reputation of Just For Laughs (which will operate as the English-language brand of the Quebec City festival).
For more than 40 years, the Just For Laughs brand, a Quebec cultural institution celebrated by French- and English-speaking communities alike, has played a major role in promoting comedy worldwide, helping catapult the careers of many renowned French- and English-speaking comedians. Just For Laughs plays host to iconic events where up-and-coming talents meet the industry’s best-known artists.
This new chapter for the festival is testament to Parent-Bédard’s strong commitment to the Quebec City community and underscores the city’s potential as a dynamic cultural hub ready to shine on the international stage.
From August 6 to 17, 2025, the Just For Laughs Festival-Quebec City promises to captivate comedy fans, coming together to enjoy an experience worthy of the world’s leading comedy brand. The festival will also feature an impressive English-language lineup to welcome an increasingly diverse audience from around the world.
The ComediHa! Group is making a decisive shift by grouping all its activities under the new banner of the Just For Entertainment Group. This consolidation follows a period of significant growth, marked by a number of major musical events, including the relaunch of SuperFrancoFête, as well as several acquisitions in recent years. These acquisitions, including Les Boys, Les Productions Martin Leclerc and the Just For Laughs / Juste pour rire Group, have helped redefine the Group’s influence in the entertainment world. This evolution signals a new identity for its operations, inspired by the worldwide reputation of the Just For Laughs Group.
With the slogan “A world of entertainment,” the Just For Entertainment Group now offers a wide range of content that includes festivals, shows, tours, audiovisual content, digital platforms, artist representation, global content distribution and more.
About Just For Entertainment
Since it was founded in 1997, Just For Entertainment/Juste pour divertir (formerly ComediHa!) has firmly established itself as an international entertainment leader in the world of live shows, television, film and festivals.
In 2024, the acquisition of the Just For Laughs Group added to ComediHa’s strengths and values. We solidified our position as the benchmark in the comedy industry for “Making people laugh around the world”. Established in 1983, Just For Laughs is internationally renowned for organizing the world’s largest comedy festival, attracting millions of visitors to Montreal and Quebec City. It’s also celebrated for its role in promoting comedy worldwide and for catapulting the careers of countless comedy stars.
Today, Just For Entertainment goes far beyond comedy to deliver a diverse range of content, including music, drama and much more. Our talented team is made up of nearly 200 permanent employees and 6,000+ temporary employees and collaborators, who always bring their shared passion and creativity to the table.
Our mission is clear: Bring together talent to create a world of entertainment through inspiring brands and content.
Our brands and products now captivate hundreds of millions of viewers around the world via our broadcast partners, festivals, social media, and digital platforms, which are followed by over 70 million engaged fans and have accumulated over 100 billion views so far.
