TRAM TRACKER: Phase 1 deal to be signed after long delay

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Supporters of Quebec City’s tramway project are getting an early Christmas present.

Barring a last-minute glitch, as of this writing, sources say the Quebec government has reached a deal to proceed with Phase 1 of the massive urban transit plan.

Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault has been saying in recent days that negotiations are on track with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) Infra division to restart construction the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government halted in November 2023 in the face of rising costs for the project.

In June, after a six-month study the government requested, CDPQ Infra presented recommendations for a modern urban transit system serving Quebec City and Lévis. The central recommendation was Phase 1, a 19-kilometre tramway line between Charlesbourg and a hub on Ave. Le Gendre in Cap-Rouge.

The CAQ approved Phase 1 pending negotiations with the Caisse and at the same time committed to building a “third link” between the north and south shores.

Guilbault set a Dec. 15 target –a Sunday–for a deal to be signed in time to prepare for the 2025 construction season. The estimated cost of Phase 1, which also includes rapid bus service lines in Quebec City and Lévis, is $5.27 billion.

According to reports, two deals were to be signed this week: One between the Quebec government and CDPQ Infra, and the other between the Quebec government and the Quebec City administration.

It’s not clear whether the agreements will have a precise financial structure for Phase 1. The Quebec government is committed to upwards of 30 per cent of the cost, with the rest split between the federal government and the city.

In its 2025 budget, the city forecasts spending on the tramway in the order of $260 million next year.

In anticipation of the announcement, Mayor Bruno Marchand told a media scrum on Dec. 12, the announcement of the green light for the tramway project “couldn’t come at a better time for the Quebec economy; to have this opportunity for public and private funds that will have a colossal impact.”

The city estimates the project will stimulate some 5,000 new housing units along the route over the next two years.

Coupled with private investment, the mayor said, the tramway will “literally [have] the impact of a mini James Bay for Quebec City.”