The City of Quebec is making the largest investment in public security in the last 25 years, $15 million from 2025 and more in 2026, to add around a hundred new police officers, 72 firefighters and equipment.
The Marchand administration made the announcement Tuesday at a press conference. “This is the largest increase in public security staff in 25 years in Quebec,” said the mayor.
Photo Stevens LeBlanc/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC
The police chief, Denis Turcotte, and the fire chief, Christian Paradis, both spoke of a “colossal” investment to increase their numbers, at a time when these improvements were eagerly awaited.
The Marchand administration will inject $6 million to add 51 police officers in 2025. Funds will also be added to hire 50 others in 2026. As for the Quebec Fire Protection Service (SPCIQ), there are 35 new firefighters who will swell the ranks in 2025, at a cost of $3.8 million. Thirty-seven additional firefighters will be added in 2026.
Bonuses also in 2026
In addition, from 2025, $5 million will be invested in new equipment for both services. For the 2026 budget, the amounts are not yet known, but it is logical to think that they will be equivalent.
This will allow the Quebec City Police Department to strengthen its prevention and intelligence teams to fight against armed violence. “This will improve our capacity and agility to act upstream and defuse problems before they worsen and also remove pressure on current teams,” commented Mr. Turcotte. A new module to counter urban violence will be created in the coming months.
On the firefighters’ side, this will make it possible to cope with more rigorous standards in terms of fire coverage and the increase in the population. The SPCIQ must now cover 100% of the urban perimeter, a proportion which was 79% just a few years ago. He must also deal with new requirements to prevent cancer among firefighters.
Priority for the mayor
For the mayor, it is a clear signal that public safety will be a “priority” in the next budget. These investments represent 1% of the tax rate of the next budget, he stressed. “It’s a significant budgetary effort. […] It’s an effort that we find necessary.”
The City would have liked the Quebec government to contribute to these investments, but the response remained negative, confirmed Mr. Marchand. It is therefore the municipality which assumes responsibility in full.
In total, the additions will increase the workforce of the two trades by 10%.
