Mélissa Gélinas LJI Reporter

A winter-spring 2025 citizen satisfaction web survey conducted by Léger was responded to by an average of 502 Gatineau residents aged 18 and over. During the press briefing on September 9, city councillors and the Mayor of Gatineau, Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, commented on the results.

Generally speaking, there were no major differences compared to the 2023 survey, according to Mario Aubé, city councillor for the Masson-Angers district. Indeed, the survey results show that the satisfaction rate in 2023, at 6.8 out of 10, remained the same for 2025.

However, the results revealed three main issues. The condition of the roads comes first, followed by the mental health of the homeless, and third, tax assessments and property taxes.

“Regarding infrastructure, 41% of respondents said they were satisfied with pothole repairs,” said Aubé. According to him, it’s not the work of our blue-collar workers that is inadequate, but rather the City’s investment.

Regarding the mental health of the homeless, Aubé asserted that it’s not up to the City to get involved. “We have to let Quebec do its job and force it to invest in this area,” he commented. However, the Mayor of Gatineau made it clear that it’s important to continue to structure action on homelessness. “If we do nothing, the problem will continue to get worse,” she emphasized.

Property taxes are a growing concern for Marquis-Bissonnette. “It’s difficult for many people to find housing and pay for groceries,” she said. “The survey indicates that 59% of respondents say it would be difficult to relocate to Gatineau if they had to move.” According to her, this is why the City had to make choices, including imposing a tax on parking lots to reduce the pressure on property taxes.

Despite the results, Buckingham District Councillor Edmond Leclerc believes the survey has no value for him. “It’s obvious that when we take a portrait of the City of Gatineau, we want to know the opinion of Gatineau residents, but in this survey, two of the City’s five sectors are presented for informational purposes only because statistically, the sample is not sufficient,” he said. In this way, according to Leclerc, there could have been a real sounding board if there had been representative samples from the Buckingham and Masson-Angers sectors.

As for the mayor, she believes that the survey is rather representative of the entire population of Gatineau. “Obviously, there are areas for improvement that we have identified,” she said. “I believe, despite everything, that this is an extremely important survey to know where we are and how we will continue to move forward.”

Photo: Mayor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette during the press scrum (September 9, 2025) (MG) Photo: Screenshot