Mayors in rural western Quebec communities report that cellular coverage remains severely lacking, over three years after a provincial government pledge to achieve full coverage by 2026. Premier François Legault committed in 2022 to expanding the network across all Quebec regions upon re-election.

Mayors Voice Frustration

Leaders from small towns in the Outaouais region, including Robert Berniquez of Cayamant—a community over an hour north of Ottawa in the Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality—describe the situation as unacceptable.

“There’s a lot of areas where there’s no signal at all, or other areas where the signal will come in but will cut at various intervals,” Berniquez states. “It’s completely inadequate as far as I’m concerned.”

Mathieu Caron, mayor of Gracefield, and Mario Langevin, mayor of Aumond, echo these concerns. “The network is supposed to be good everywhere. Right now, even here in my house, I have no signal. I can’t make a phone call. I have to go outside,” Caron explains. “What I’m seeing now is more of a degradation of service than an improvement.”

Langevin highlights the security risks: “The lack of coverage is a major problem as far as security is concerned.”

Extensive Gaps in Coverage

Provincial data reveals that more than half of the Vallée-de-la-Gatineau MRC territory lacks cellular service, with other areas experiencing poor connectivity. Province-wide, 155 cellular sites are under construction, but in the Outaouais, only the L’Ange-Gardien project has finished. Maps indicate weak or absent reception in the northern and western parts of the region.

Safety and Emergency Risks

Mayors warn that unreliable service endangers lives, particularly for 911 calls during emergencies. “If there’s an accident somewhere, if there’s an emergency of some kind, if somebody is stranded somewhere and they are in one of those zones where there’s no signal, what can they do?” Berniquez asks. “They’re stuck there. It could be a matter of life or death.”

Berniquez also points to shared responsibility, urging the federal government and telecom providers to prioritize universal service over profits.

Calls for Action

Chantal Lamarche, prefect of the Vallée-de-la-Gatineau MRC, plans to meet with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to address the issue. Pontiac-Kitigan Zibi MP Sophie Chatel is investigating, stressing the need for stronger provincial-federal collaboration.