While a third link is being called for for Quebec, the Côte-Nord would be satisfied with a “first link”: a bridge to cross the Saguenay from Charlevoix.
The project has been in the works for decades, but the debate shaking the Capitale-Nationale and recent positive signals from the Legault government are reviving ambitions in the region. Currently, it is a ferry service that fills the gap of Route 138 over 1.5 kilometres.
More exotic, but much slower.
“MAMU A bridge between us,” proclaim the posters installed at the entrance to several villages on the Côte-Nord. “Mamu” means “together” in Innu-aimun, the indigenous language of the region’s 20,000 or so Innu. Their leaders support the idea.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
To cross the Saguenay, motorists and truckers must take the ferry or make a long detour through the city of Saguenay.
Guillaume Tremblay is the head of the Coalition Union 138, which is campaigning for the construction of a bridge. With his most fervent comrades, he unfurls banners when ministers pass through the region or when the ferry service is disrupted. This was recently the case due to the shutdown of one of the two boats.
“We always have a sword of Damocles hanging over our heads,” he said. “It’s a constant concern.”
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
In 2022, the Legault government launched new studies on the possibility of building a bridge over the Saguenay.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Some voices are more skeptical about the idea of a bridge, fearing in particular that fewer tourists will stop in Tadoussac.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The ferry provides paid employment to several dozen people in Tadoussac and the surrounding area,
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The ferry, especially when it has problems or is full of tourists, makes life difficult for carriers who cannot commit to firm delivery times.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
One thing is certain, the region lives to the rhythm of water.
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“There is always a feeling of having to deal with this to have access to our region or to leave it,” said Mr. Tremblay, who lives in Baie-Comeau.
I think that in 2024, as a region that contributes significantly to the economic development of Quebec, we should not have to deal with a situation like this.
Guillaume Tremblay, spokesperson for the Coalition Union 138
The Legault government launched new studies in 2022 on the opportunity to build such an infrastructure. The results should be known in the coming months.
” An obstacle “
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The Boisaco Group, in Sacré-Cœur, delivers its wood by truck to construction sites throughout North America.
On the Boisaco Group’s vast land in Sacré-Cœur, a veritable forest of boards and plywood awaits delivery to construction sites across North America. By truck.
But many of those trucks will have to go by boat, much to the chagrin of the cooperative’s leaders. Because the “uncertainties of the boat” cost it more than $1 million a year, she calculated.
It’s as if we were 100 kilometers further from the major centers because of this. It’s very penalizing.
Steeve St-Gelais, president of Boisaco
In the era of “just-in-time” deliveries, with customers who don’t want to store goods in their facilities, Boisaco can’t always commit to a firm delivery time, especially when the ferry service is having problems or is monopolized by tourists, St-Gelais explains in his large office located a stone’s throw from the sawmill.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Steeve St-Gelais and Guy Deschênes, managers within the Boisaco Group
“It’s such an obstacle that most carriers prefer to go through Saguenay,” a long detour. “We have to manage to resolve this issue once and for all.”
“We can’t conceive of, justify or explain the slowness of this decision,” added Guy Deschênes, also a director at Groupe Boisaco. “At some point, we have to put an end to what we’re experiencing and what we’re enduring. It takes a bridge over the Saguenay. It’s more than logical, it’s just common sense.”
“We will be isolated”
Not all North Shore residents are as enthusiastic about the idea of seeing the ferries give way to a bridge, however.
Tadoussac, the gateway to the region, has 800 residents but welcomes up to 300,000 tourists a year. Mayor Richard Therrien has not officially taken a position for or against the project, but fears that a bridge could push some of them to bypass the village.
“We’re going to be isolated” if the route actually bypasses Tadoussac, Mr. Therrien says in his office at the small town hall. “We’ve always had concerns about the coming of a bridge.”
Around the building, visitors wander through the small streets of the village, one eye constantly on the river. The grand Tadoussac hotel and its bright red roof serve as a landmark.
Yes, tourists who want to stay a few days will continue to do so. But “there is also passing tourism: people who get off the ferry, who stop to gas, who stop to eat upstairs at La Petite Patate, who come to walk for an hour or two in the village,” continued Mr. Therrien. “These are still economic spinoffs that we are going to lose.”
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Richard Therrien, Mayor of Tadoussac
Above all, the mayor argues, the ferry provides paying jobs to several dozen people in his locality and the surrounding area. “These are well-paid jobs.”
In any case, Mr. Therrien is not holding his breath: “I am 64 years old. I think that when I was 20, I went to CEGEP and they talked about the bridge.” And even then, Mr. Therrien was betting on boats. He spent his entire career as a… merchant marine officer.
Learn more
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- 1,400,978
- This is the number of passengers who used, on board 828,686 vehicles, the 37,159 ferry trips made on the Saguenay River in 2022-2023.
Source: Quebec Ferry Company