One tram, two feelings of urgency in the face of a possible conservative tidal wave

Photo: Jacques Nadeau Archives Le Devoir The mayor of the capital, Bruno Marchand, believes that the eventual arrival — and perhaps earlier than in the fall of 2025 — of a Conservative government in Ottawa could derail the tramway.

Sébastien Tanguay in Quebec

Posted at 1:02 p.m.

• Quebec City

Faced with the specter of an early election in Ottawa and polls announcing the arrival in power of conservative troops hostile to financing a tramway in the capital, Quebec City and Quebec Government have feelings of urgency that are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

The mayor of the capital, Bruno Marchand, believes that the eventual arrival — and perhaps earlier than in the fall of 2025 — of a conservative government in Ottawa could derail the tramway. “He was very clear that he did not want to go ahead,” he said Friday morning in an impromptu press conference. “Someone who tells you that it is not a risk, with Poilievre’s positions… It is definitely a risk.”

A few minutes earlier, the minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale region and Infrastructure, Jonatan Julien, said he did not see any.

“It certainly doesn’t keep me awake at night,” said the Charlesbourg MP about the shadow of an early election that has been hanging over Ottawa since the revocation of the agreement between the NDP and the Liberals. “Currently, there is no issue with funding.”

His faith rests on the bilateral infrastructure agreement in principle reached in the spring of 2023 with his former federal counterpart, Dominic Leblanc. It provides for Ottawa to set aside funds to finance approximately 40% of the tramway, regardless of its final bill.

CDPQ Infra estimates that the first phase that the CAQ government is committed to carrying out, which includes a central corridor with an antenna to Charlesbourg, will cost $5.27 billion, an amount paid, according to the latest known financial packages, 50% by the province, 40% by the federal government and 10% by the City.

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However, the Conservative leader has already telegraphed his aversion to the issue. “As Prime Minister, I will not invest a cent of federal money in a tramway project in Quebec City,” he wrote on X on June 13.

As Prime Minister, I will not invest a cent of federal money in a tramway project in Quebec City.

Trudeau and the Bloc are obsessed with the war on cars and ignore people in the suburbs and regions.

Common-sense Conservatives will continue to respect the…

— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) June 13, 2024

His Quebec lieutenant, Pierre-Paul Hus, had to recant himself within a few hours after stating that the Conservative troops would not tear up contracts signed by the Liberals. “A Conservative government will NOT invest federal money in a tramway,” he changed his mind on Elon Musk’s platform, “regardless of Justin Trudeau’s promises.”

No urgency in government

For Mayor Bruno Marchand, it is important to get the project underway as quickly as possible. “We have to get started. Not to get ahead of ourselves, Mr. Poilievre, but because the funding is there, the governments want it, and we have to move forward.”

In the same breath, he indicates that without Ottawa’s support, Quebec would have a hard time paying the bill alone.

“I would have a big question mark if about 38% of the funding were to leave all at once. I don’t know how the Quebec government, which is the main donor, would react, but in their place, I would understand them asking themselves: ‘Is this possible in a very difficult financial context for the Quebec government??’ It would certainly raise serious questions, emphasizes the mayor. We must not lose this funding.”

Minister Jonatan Julien, for his part, is not showing the same urgency. “In Quebec, we are not skipping steps,” he said about a tramway that has been making the rounds for six years within his government. The file is moving forward, he said, and an announcement on the governance model will be made “this fall.”

Le Devoir asked the office of Sean Fraser, the current federal Minister of Infrastructure, to verify the solidity of the agreement mentioned by Jonatan Julien in the event that the Conservative troops are elected. The response was still pending at the time of writing.