Quebec transport minister rules out stopping Quebec City tram project

Quebec Minister of Infrastructure Jonatan Julien answers questions during a press briefing at the opening of the Coalition Avenir Québec caucus in Saguenay on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. ( The Canadian Press/Francis Vachon)

It is “out of the question” to stop the tramway project, as Quebec City mayoral candidate Sam Hamad has demanded, ruled new Transport Minister Jonatan Julien. Otherwise, there would be “definitely penalties.”

“The tramway, we committed to doing it. Right now, we are doing it with CDPQ Infra, and it is moving forward,” he said Wednesday upon arriving at the National Assembly.

On Tuesday, Sam Hamad called for the tramway to be immediately halted ahead of the municipal election on Nov. 2.

Hamad has promised to end the project if elected and replace it with a bus rapid transit (BRT) service.

Asked what would happen if Quebec voters elected a mayor opposed to the tramway, Julien declined to answer, calling it a “purely hypothetical question.”

Booed at baseball game

Premier François Legault was booed while attending a baseball game in Quebec City on Tuesday.

Julien was also at the event.

“It’s not pleasant. (…) Clearly, we have trust to rebuild. We had a cabinet shuffle. We are currently working on priority files. We will take the time to work properly to rebuild that trust,” he said.

“We went into the stands. We had a really nice time. And people were very friendly in the stands,” the minister added.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 17, 2024.