Peter Black

May 22, 2024

Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com 

Quebec City has a brand new police station, opened several years later and in a different location than originally planned, but delivered under budget and to rave reviews.

City officials gave an inaugural tour of the five-storey structure on May 14. Located in the Charlesbourg district on Boul. Louis XIV near the Autoroute Laurentienne, the new headquarters replaces the antiquated police station near Parc Victoria. That building is to be demolished and the park expanded.

Mayor Bruno Marchand, obviously pleased the project came in $2.3 million under its $112-million projected budget, said, “With this incomparable infrastructure, Quebec City now has one of the best facilities in the province. This is an undeniable advantage for continuing to make Quebec a city where citizens feel safe.”

He said, “Here, we have a concrete example that the city is capable of carrying out major projects that will benefit our community. It was high time to modernize the facilities in order to continue to offer quality services to citizens.”

Police Chief Denis Turcotte said, “The new centre will become the pride of all police and civilian personnel. Having the majority of our teams gathered in the same location will allow for better synergy which will undeniably have an impact on the efficiency of our operations, for the benefit of the population.”

The new police HQ, the area of one and a half football fields, features space for 750 workers, or about 70 per cent of personnel, 52 holding cells, 259 interior parking spaces and 629 exterior spaces. To help cops stay in shape, there is a spacious gym and training facilities. 

Various environmental measures in the building’s construction have created a 30 per cent energy saving.

For citizens, the new building offers, according to background information, “various amenities respecting the principles of universal accessibility. They will benefit from closed premises to ensure confidential complaints and self-service computers to submit an event report or a request for a criminal record check.”

Until the new facility is fully operational in the coming weeks, people will still need to go to the stations in Parc Victoria and on Route de l’Eglise in Ste-Foy to pay tickets or file a complaint.

Several years ago, the city purchased property on Rue des Rocailles, near Boul. Pierre Bertrand, at a cost of $2.6 million, for the new police station, but in 2019 the site was deemed to be too small to accommodate parking.

The new police headquarters in Charlesbourg is located on Boul. Louis XIV near the Autoroute Laurentienne.   

Image from Ville de Québec

The new police station contains an exhibit displaying items from the 181-year history of the force. Stéphanie Filteau is the curator. 

Photo from Ville de Québec