Almost 25 per cent more pedestrians killed on Quebec roads in 2024

An 84-year-old woman was killed on Terrebonne St. (Andrei Khabad / CTV News)

The number of people killed or injured on Quebec roads fell slightly in 2024 compared with the previous year, but issues remain concerning the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

According to data from Quebec’s road safety report for 2024, released on Thursday, 379 deaths occurred on the province’s roads last year, one fewer than in 2023.

The number of people injured totalled 27,854 in 2024, down from 28,104 in 2023.

In particular, the report shows an improvement in the safety of motorcyclists. The number of deaths among motorcyclists was 45 in 2024, 23.5 per cent down on the 2019-2023 average of 59.

It illustrates, however, that particular attention must continue to be paid to the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

In 2024, 80 pedestrians were killed on the roads, an increase of 24.6 per cent compared with the 2019-2023 average of 64.

Among cyclists, there were 13 deaths in 2024, one more than the five-year average. Since 2019, between eight and 16 cyclists have been killed each year in Quebec.

In a news release, Carl Bélisle, the captain in charge of the Sûreté du Québec’s transport network safety strategy analysis office, pointed out that human behaviour is the cause of “the majority of fatal and serious injury collisions, which means that they were avoidable.”

“The adoption of safe behaviour by road users is therefore essential to reducing the number of road collisions, since road safety is a shared responsibility,” he said.

Compared with the average for 2019 to 2023, the 2024 road safety report also shows a decrease of three deaths among young people aged 15 to 24, an increase of two deaths among people aged 75 or over, and an increase of five deaths among occupants of heavy trucks and road tractors.

The Quebec Road Report is produced by the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, in partnership with Contrôle routier Québec, the Sûreté du Québec and the Association des directeurs de police du Québec.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 22, 2025.