Québec MP Duclos: Quebec Bridge and tramway big wins in 2024
Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
peterblack@qctonline.com
As our interview with Jean-Yves Duclos wrapped with a question about plans for the holidays, the federal minister scrambled to pull out his phone and show a picture of his newborn grandson.
“Spending more time with him,” Duclos said. Getting some cross-country skiing in is also on the list.
The year-end chat with the minister of public services and procurement at his Boul. Charest riding office on Dec. 13 came with two major events looming on his political agenda, symbolizing the dual role he plays as a key minister in the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and as the MP for the Québec riding in the heart of Quebec City.
On Dec. 16, were it not for his commitment to be present on the front bench in the House of Commons for the government’s fall economic statement, he would have been in Quebec City for the announcement of the deal to proceed with Phase 1 of the city’s tramway project. (It’s unclear as of this writing whether Chrystia Freeland’s abrupt resignation as finance minister on Dec. 16 changed those plans.)
The tramway, indeed, is one of the two major achievements of 2024 on Duclos’ list, as well as the federal government’s acquisition of the Quebec Bridge.
Duclos said the bridge deal, involving some $40 million over 25 years, secures the future of the historic span. “So now we know what to do in the next year, years and decades, because it will take between 15 and 20 years for the entire bridge to be completely refurbished, painted and secured for the next 75 years. So that’s great news.”
Duclos said with the repair job on the bridge in the works, future uses of the link will be considered, including improved bicycle and pedestrian access, urban transit service including the tramway and as a temporary alternative for heavy truck transport should the Pierre Laporte Bridge be closed. As for the tramway announcement on Dec. 16, Duclos said, “I would have liked to be there, to celebrate the hard work of so many others over the last few years, the support of economic groups like the chambers of commerce and industry on both sides of the river, the environmental groups, the social groups, all of the housing developers [who] are keen on building more homes and more rapidly, attracting new and younger people to the area.”Duclos explained the federal funding commitment to the tramway includes the initial $1.5-billion investment, and “the second is from 2026 onwards. Every year there is an additional $3 billion per year that the federal government is making available to provinces and territories to invest or reinvest in their public transit system.”Of that, the tramway would be eligible for a portion of Quebec’s share of about $700 million annually, Duclos said. “The money is there.”
Whether the money will still be there in the event a Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre is elected next year, Duclos said it’s the usual “incoherence” from the Tory leader. “[H]e travels outside of Quebec and says how marvellous it is for other cities who have received federal public transit support because it leads to more homes being built. He wants to steal the money that is already there and take it away from the city and use it for other purposes.”Duclos is in his fourth cabinet portfolio since the Liberals under Justin Trudeau defeated Stephen Harper’s Conservatives in 2015. Previously minister of families, children and social devel- opment (2015-19), Treasury Board (2019-2021) and health (2021-23), Duclos became Trudeau’s Quebec lieutenant in the fall, when Montreal-area MP Pablo Rodriguez stepped down to run for Quebec Liberal Party leader.
With an election inevitable in 2025, Duclos said Liberal fortunes will improve once Canadians “have to de- cide as to what type of society and country we want to live in in the years to come, and when that time comes, it will be, I think, more clear for Quebecers in particular that the other option being Poilievre’s option, is far from their values and their interest.”Does he plan to run for a fourth term? “Of course, because I’m going to fight for the people in my rid- ing and my region as much as I can … knowing the threat that the election of Pierre Poilievre would bring and knowing that the Bloc Québécois is unable to address that threat.”
His message for 2025? “To keep being mindful of the for- tune we have to live in Canada, in Quebec City in particular. We take many things for granted in life. It’s wonderful to be given the chance, in my case, to be serving the interest of my constituents.”
Duclos added, “I wish [for us to] think of every day as a gift, the gift of being there for each other.”