Third link: Quebec wants to propose a new project

The third link between Quebec City and Lévis is back on the table, with the Coalition Avenir Québec planning to propose a new project.

"I think the third link is going to happen. The important thing is to offer the people of Chaudière-Appalaches and Quebec City a credible solution with a precise timetable," said Beauce-Sud MNA Samuel Poulin Wednesday at the national assembly.

"The prospect of a third link is being intensively examined by the Coalition Avenir Québec," said Jonatan Julien, minister for the Capitale-Nationale region.

Less than 24 hours after his crushing defeat by the Parti Québécois in Jean-Talon last month, Premier François Legault took everyone by surprise when he announced that he wanted to consult the Quebec City population on the third link.

It came just a few months after Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault announced the abandonment of the project's highway section in favour of a tunnel reserved for public transit.

The CAQ maintains that the public will be consulted.

"But I can tell you that the Quebec government is currently working hard to find the best and most credible project," explained Poulin.

Legault had already raised the idea of a bridge in October.

On Wednesday, media outlet Le Soleil published a poll showing that only 9 per cent of Quebecers still believe the CAQ will build the third link.

TRAMWAY UNCERTAINTIES

The CAQ's statements come during a time when the future of Quebec City's tramway project is increasingly uncertain.

Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand is scheduled to meet with the government on Wednesday afternoon to defend his project.

According to CAQ internal memos mistakenly sent to journalists Wednesday morning, the government "wishes to work in collaboration with the city and the federal government to provide Quebec City with a structuring public transit project. In the current economic situation, we need to sit down and look at our options. It's the responsible thing to do."

The government is increasingly wary of the tramway project because of the soaring costs, now estimated at $8.4 billion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 8, 2023.