Courtesy
Cyclists take advantage of freshly maintained paths near Granby, part of the Trans Canada Trail network receiving Trail Care funding this spring

By William Crooks

Local Journalism Initiative

Community groups maintaining key sections of the Trans Canada Trail near Sherbrooke are among the 22 Quebec recipients of new Trail Care funding announced this spring. The funds, distributed by Trans Canada Trail (TCT), aim to support volunteer-led maintenance, cleanup, and improvement projects along the 29,000-km national trail network.

“We awarded $27,500 to groups in Quebec this year through the Trail Care Grant Program,” said Justin Fauteux, TCT’s Manager of Media and Public Relations, in an interview with The Record. “It’s a way to help them prepare for the cycling and hiking season and recognize the critical role of volunteers.”

While no projects were funded directly in Sherbrooke this year, several surrounding trails received grants. Just southwest of the city, La Montagnarde held a trail cleanup day—removing branches, clearing ditches, and addressing drainage issues after the winter thaw. North of Sherbrooke, along the popular La Cantonnière trail, funding is being used to replace worn planks on benches and repaint rest areas, helping prepare the route for its heavy summer cycling traffic.

“These are the kinds of small but essential projects that can make a big difference for users,” Fauteux said. “A lot of these trails are maintained by small, often volunteer-run groups that may not have the budget for this type of upkeep.”

Other funded projects in the region include:

• Parc linéaire des Bois-Francs near Victoriaville, where planks on a bridge near Halte Somerset are being resurfaced to improve accessibility.
• La Montérégiade, stretching from Granby to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, where volunteers cleared winter debris and overgrown branches.
• Sentier de la Vallée, north of Sherbrooke, where trail surfaces are being levelled and repaired.
• L’Estriade, running from Waterloo to Granby, where facilities are being readied for the cycling season.

According to Fauteux, the Trail Care grants are designed to be accessible and low-barrier, with most projects receiving $1,250. “It’s not meant for major overhauls,” he explained, “but it’s incredibly valuable for the kinds of routine maintenance and volunteer mobilization these groups rely on.”

Beyond Trail Care, TCT also invests more broadly in trail expansion. Between April 2024 and April 2025, the organization added 795 kilometres of trail across Canada, including nearly 400 km in Quebec alone. Currently, about 2,000 km of the Trans Canada Trail runs through Quebec.

“The trail was officially connected from coast to coast to coast in 2017,” Fauteux said. “But that was just the beginning. Since then, we’ve added more than 6,000 km. We’re still expanding—especially in Quebec.”

Locally, the Grand-Fourche Trail, which runs through Sherbrooke, is part of the TCT network. Although it didn’t receive funding this year, Fauteux said the area remains a vital part of the national trail system, and community groups in the region are encouraged to apply for future funding opportunities.

For more information or to view the full trail network, including nearby routes, residents can consult the interactive map on the Trans Canada Trail website.