Quebec mayors want finance minister to cancel SAQ closures

Quebec mayors are calling on the Finance Minister to stop closing SAQ branches in municipalities. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

Municipal leaders are calling on Finance Minister Eric Girard to cancel the closure of Société des alcools (SAQ) branches in town centres.

The minister, who is responsible for the SAQ, was questioned for the first time on Thursday in this confrontation between mayors and the state-owned company, which is refusing to back down.

In a news release obtained by The Canadian Press, Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand, Stanstead Mayor Jody Stone, and the mayor of Baie-D’Urfé, Heidi Hektvedt, asked him to intervene.

“On balance, the announced closures will cost the state far more than they will bring in,” they argue, calling for a policy of territorial responsibility on the part of the SAQ.

Similarly, Nathalie Prud’homme, president of the Ordre des urbanistes du Québec (OUQ), said that the SAQ’s decisions will lead to the “devitalization” of city centres.

In March, seven mayors called for a moratorium on the closure of eight branches, including Julie Dufour of Saguenay, Antoine Tardif of Victoriaville and Marchand.

But last week, in parliamentary committee, SAQ boss Jacques Farcy justified his decision to close some branches in town centres on the grounds of profitability.

Mayor Heidi Hektvedt does not accept this response from the CEO.

“The parking lot is always full” at the Baie-D’Urfé SAQ, she retorted in an interview with The Canadian Press at noon on Thursday.

“I don’t understand,” she insisted, adding that other municipal councillors shared her point of view.

She demanded that the SAQ open its books on the branches in question, to see what the SAQ was basing its decision on, which Farcy refused to do last week.

“There’s not a great deal of transparency,” the mayor complained.

The closure of the SAQ branch in her municipality, which is rumoured to be at the end of August, will have devastating consequences for other businesses, she believes.

“This goes against the trend of denser towns,” said Hektvedt. “People will go elsewhere, to neighbouring towns, to do all their shopping at the same time as buying a bottle of wine.”

Prud’homme agreed, pointing out that SAQ outlets are a “driver of development” and play an “attractive” role in the heart of towns and villages, by encouraging local shopping habits.

“That’s what makes a town centre dynamic,” she argued in an interview with The Canadian Press.

She believes that the SAQ is going against the government’s urban planning guidelines and has a “responsibility to respect” the Politique nationale d’aménagement du territoire, adopted by the government itself, which promotes town centres.

The SAQ’s decision “has a direct effect on the devitalization of town centres,” she continued, adding that the SAQ has “a much broader mission” than selling alcohol.

“A state-owned company is not there just to make a profit,” said Hektvedt.

“I am therefore calling on the Quebec government to impose a moratorium on branch closures until such time as the Crown corporation has adopted a policy of territorial responsibility,” said Marchand.

“Branch closures are simply unjustified and would have significant economic consequences for communities,” said Christian Savard, director general of Vivre en Ville.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 15, 2025.