Route 138 - A forgotten region demands to be connected: the MRC du Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent launches a major strategic analysis
Chevery, May 27, 2025 – Determined to break the chronic isolation of the Lower North Shore, the MRC du Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent is launching an analysis detailing the advantages and necessity of completing Route 138.
This measure is part of a series of initiatives taken by the MRC to advance this crucial issue for our region, including the hiring last fall of a development coordinator dedicated to the file, whose main role is to establish working relationships with all the players involved in the file of the completion of Route 138.
“Unfortunately, we can’t go back and rewrite the history of Route 138. We have to look to the future and change the narrative based on today’s economic and social realities. Fortunately, we, along with our Native neighbors, occupy a vast and generous territory with a wealth of resources in high-demand sectors such as energy, mining, fisheries, forestry and tourism. Exploiting these resources could yield major spin-offs for our region and for the entire province”.
– Glen McKinnon, Route 138 Development Coordinator for the MRC du Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent
The analysis will be carried out in collaboration with the Institut de recherches en économie contemporaine (IRÉC) and the public relations firm Mercure, and will be presented to the Ministère des Transports et de la Mobilité durable with the opportunities study document produced by the Groupe mobilité Basse-Côte-Nord.
Investing to connect: gains far beyond the North Shore
The MRC’s study aims to detail how the lack of a road link affects Quebec’s economy, and will focus on elements less studied to date, such as the cost of our isolation to the province of Quebec.
“Our territory is immense, rich in history, culture and resources. There’s a universal truth that time is money, so why is it that the population of the Lower North Shore has had to wait decades for the infrastructure that would allow it to exploit its resources and contribute to the vitality of the province’s economy? Who benefits from our isolation?”
– Glen McKinnon, Route 138 Development Coordinator for the MRC du Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent
The Quebec government’s lack of investment in the North Shore’s Road infrastructure is an injustice that residents have been experiencing for decades. The region contributes more than $9 billion to the province’s GDP (2022), and infrastructure investments barely exceed $300 million per year (2024-2026). This injustice makes the situation particularly critical on the Lower North Shore, where the lack of investment means that the population is trapped by substandard air and maritime transportation.
The MRC du Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent will therefore continue its mobilization efforts to advance this crucial project for the future of our territory.
-30-
Source : Mrs. Gladys Driscoll Martin
Warden
418 787-2016
info@mrcgsl.ca