GENEVA | Even if the deadline of the end of September for an agreement on the tramway has officially passed, the mayor of Quebec repeats that he has confidence in the Legault government “until proven otherwise.” He also believes that an announcement is “imminent” in this matter.
• Also read: Fight against climate change: Mayor Bruno Marchand insists on the importance of “city diplomacy”
• Also read: According to a WHO leader: Quebec among the “precursor” cities in urban health
This is what Bruno Marchand mentioned on Monday, at Journalfrom Switzerland where he continues his European mission.
For weeks, the mayor has been demanding that a pre-agreement between the government of Quebec Legault and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec infra (CDPQI) be signed by the end of September.
Mr. Marchand now prefers to emphasize other elements which are, in his eyes, more fundamental. “The real objective is not the agreement date, but to have a construction season in 2025 to put things in place and to achieve the big objective of delivering in 2030,” he clarified.
Monday morning, the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, participated in the start of the Mayors’ Forum, an event organized in Geneva (Switzerland) under the aegis of the UN.
Photo Taieb Moalla
Did the mayor play his political cards badly by publicly mentioning this target at the end of September? “No,” the main person strongly denied. I told you that at the end of the summer, at the end of September, around these dates, we need an interim agreement and I said that the feedback I had made it was realistic to think that at that time.”
10 days
Despite our insistence, Bruno Marchand was careful not to launch a too specific new deadline to the Legault government. According to him, “we are capable of living with a delay of another 10 days. We are not able to live with a delay of two or three months. That’s not the same thing […] The seriousness of the situation would become real to the extent that we do not have an agreement and that it drags on until the end of October, the end of November. And there, we lose the 2025 construction season.”
That said, the mayor of Quebec reported this: “I believe it is imminent [l’annonce d’une préentente]. It’s not me who is in the front row because it’s the government of Quebec and the Caisse. I hope it’s imminent and that we will have news within a few days, a few weeks. This is what we need. Everyone is working on that.”
Not worried
Despite the multiple procrastinations on the tram, Bruno Marchand assures that he has confidence in Prime Minister Legault and the entire government in this matter. “What we are being told is that we are moving forward. The discussions show that we are moving forward, he assured. If we do not reach an agreement, my speech will change, but I have no reason to doubt that there is a desire to reach an agreement. So, I’m not worried. Today, I have no reason to doubt what was said to me and the will that was expressed.”
Describing himself as a “positive” politician, Mr. Marchand defended himself from any naivety and maintained that the tramway will be built. He defended his strategy even when the project was temporarily put on hold in November 2023. “We didn’t act like babies by saying we’re sulking in our corner and acting like a fool. […] It requires a lot of self-sacrifice and maturity. Our objective is not egocentric,” he recalled.
Do you have any information to share with us about this story?
Write to us at or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.
