No signal: Outaouais excluded from province’s cell coverage plan
Mélissa Gélinas
Local Journalism Initiative
Published in the Pontiac Journal on May 7, 2025.
OUTAOUAIS – A $25 million investment is planned to improve Quebec’s cellular network in 2025–2026 through the addition of new towers. However, the Quebec government recently announced that the Outaouais region will be excluded from the provincial cellular coverage plan.
“Six months ago, I attended a conference held by the Quebec Federation of Municipalities (FQM) where I learned that the plan to roll out cellular service would cover the entire province, according to Premier François Legault’s promise to do so by 2026,” said Jane Toller, warden of the Pontiac MRC. “I later found out that the Outaouais had been excluded from that timeline and that the rollout [in our region] would likely happen in 2027 or 2028.”
Toller called the situation unacceptable, pointing out that several municipalities, including Waltham, have no cellular service at all. “It’s especially concerning when it comes to emergencies,” she said. “For example, there’s no coverage while driving along [some sections] of Highway 148, and that’s a serious issue.”
She also noted similar problems on Highway 105 and in Maniwaki, where the network is unreliable.Despite this, the Quebec government continues to claim that the Vallée-de-la-Gatineau has the same level of cellular service as the rest of the Outaouais. But according to Chantal Lamarche, warden of the Vallée-de-la-Gatineau, officials and elected representatives in Quebec City are unaware of the reality and complexity of the region’s geography outside of the City of Gatineau.
“As members of the Outaouais Wardens’ Conference (CPO), we will be submitting a resolution to the Quebec government calling for equitable cellular service across the region and for the rollout to take place by 2026,” said Toller.
The Minister responsible for both communications and the Outaouais, Mathieu Lacombe, did not respond to the Journal’s requests for comment.
