Quebec City Tramway at $7.6B: Bruno Marchand insists on “the good news”

Despite the three-year delay for the commissioning of the tramway and the rising costs of the megaproject, the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, wanted to recall that Monday’s announcement is “good news” for the region.

“We are going to try to change the vibe A little. This is good news today,” he considered it necessary to clarify at a press briefing. Mayor Marchand was asked if the City was not losing control of the project to the benefit of the Quebec government and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Infra (CDPQI).

Bruno Marchand then assured that the three players will work as “partners”. He said he was hopeful that “people will find solutions” when there are “trade-offs to be made” on this or that aspect of the megaproject.

“Credible partner”

“The Caisse et Ville work was done magnificently well [depuis le début du mandat de CDPQI en janvier 2024]. Is it always perfect? Well no. People find ways to find passageways. Then it will result in the best project for the people of the City with a credible partner who will be able to deliver it on time, as for the REM,” he said.

Mayor Marchand reiterated that the agreement concluded between the City and the Government of Quebec respects the ability of Quebec citizens to pay. The City’s participation in the megaproject must in fact be $678M with a ceiling of $750M and a floor of $600M, we learned.

Reactions

On the side of the official municipal opposition, the leader of Quebec First, Claude Villeneuve, welcomed the agreement, which he described as “advantageous for the City of Quebec”, since we “are closer to the construction of the tramway. That said, “we must move forward. We must stop procrastinating […] We would like a faster delivery schedule and for the entire phase 1 of the CITÉ plan to be planned,” he added.

While affirming that she did not want to “spit in the soup,” Jackie Smith, head of Transition Québec, admitted to having difficulty sharing Mayor Marchand’s enthusiasm. “Every time we announce that the project is moving forward, we push back the delivery date. Currently, the bond of trust with the government is very fragile,” she said, extremely moved.

For his part, Patrick Paquet, head of Équipe Priorité Québec, emphasized the “discomfort” and “improvisation” of Monday’s press briefing. He said he was convinced that the tram project, whose costs are continually increasing, will never happen.

What they said

“We are delighted to see the tram project move into the planning phase and, above all, that the agreement reached officially designates the RTC as operator. »

– Maude Mercier Larouche, President of the Capital Transportation Network

Photo Stevens LeBlanc

“Not being able to confirm that Alstom of La Pocatière will build the tramway shows that the Quebec government is moving forward painfully on this issue. »

– Caroline Senneville, president of the CSN

Archive photo, QMI Agency

“Finally a heavy and capable transport! Public transport users have been waiting a long time for the tramway to see the light of day in Quebec. […] It is crucial that work on the construction of the tramway begins next year. »

– Marie-Soleil Gagné, Executive Director of Sustainable Transportation Access

Photo courtesy, Muriel Leclerc

“With this agreement, the government is more committed than ever since in the event of cancellation of the project, it would have to reimburse the costs assumed by the City. »

– Christian Savard, general director of Vivre en Ville

Photo provided by Living in the City

“This announcement is a victory for public transportation in Quebec City. »

– Philip Jacques, spokesperson for Trajectoire Québec

Photo taken from Linkedin