Artificial insemination
The ministry of agriculture at the time was concerned with the poor productivity of dairy farms in the province and was blaming poor genetics as the root cause. Artificial insemination, then a novel technique, appeared to be promising solution so the government tasked the recently graduated Dr. Mercier with the founding of the Artificial Insemination Center of Quebec (CIAQ). The mission of the CIAQ was at the time the improvement of the yield of dairy cows, particularly through genetic amelioration but it would later expand in scope. The center conducted its first artificial insemination in 1948 and initiated the creation of a Dairy Herd Analysis Service. Dr. Mercier stayed with the center a total of three years, but through policies he enacted a decade later as the deputy-minister of agriculture, the center became semi-privatized and went on to become a leading institution in its domain.