Quebec City tramway finally gets green light as province gives unconditional approval

The Legault government has finally authorized Quebec City to launch its long-delayed tramway project and Mayor Bruno Marchand says he's ready to get started.

"We have many environmental issues that we have to address. And we have to deliver solutions. This is a great solution," Marchand said on Wednesday after cabinet approved decrees without any of the conditions that had previously been discussed.

Quebec Transport Minister François Bonnardel said it is now up to the city's mayor to better communicate the benefits of the tramway project in order to convince as many citizens as possible.

And that's just what Marchand began that very afternoon, touting the importance of a project that he said will help carry the city into a more environmentally friendly future by reducing emissions and improving mobility.

"It's the best way to respond to some of the big environmental challenges that we face," he said.

Premier François Legault and his government had voiced concerns over the project's potential impact on vehicular traffic.

The government demanded better social acceptability before authorizing the tramway and was at first saying the adoption of related ministerial decrees would be conditional on the development of shared streets along the route. 

Last month, Marchand harshly criticized the Legault government for standing in the way of the project.

Then on Tuesday, Legault said he was not going to interfere in the powers of the city by remodeling "the layout and the detail."

"It will be up to the mayor of Quebec City to decide how he does that," he told reporters.

Bonnardel said regardless of the unconditional decrees, the provincial government still expects a certain level of social acceptability for the project. However, he declined to delve further into what that means. 

"Everyone can have their own definition of social acceptability. I have mine. I will keep it to myself," he said.

This should put an end to the first head-to-head clash between the Coalition Avenir Québec government and Quebec City's new mayor, but Marchand says that's not what's important.

"It's not about the ego of the mayor. It's all about the citizens of Quebec," said Marchand, who expects the tramway to be up and running on city streets by 2028.