Quebec's construction holiday the deadliest in last 10 years, say provincial police

Quebec provincial police is reminding motorists to remain cautious given an unprecedented number of road deaths that occurred over Quebec's construction holiday — a mandatory two-week summer break when most construction sites pause operations.

The construction break is known to be a dangerous time of year on Quebec roads, but this year the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) is reporting 38 deaths from 30 collisions during the two-week period, compared to 17 deaths during 2024's construction holiday.

The tally for 2025 includes 31 road deaths and seven that that happened off road on the recreational network.

"This data represents the worst results of the last 10 years on the network served by the SQ," police said in a news release.

This past weekend alone, at least nine people died, including four in a single-vehicle crash when a 29-year-old driver veered off the road in Saint-Luc-de-Bellechasse, in Quebec's Chaudière-Appalaches region, and slammed into a tree. The driver, and three children under the age of 10 were killed. 

The SQ also reported the deaths of three motorcyclists, one near Gatineau on Highway 105, another in Sainte-Flavie on the south shore of the St. Lawrence and a third in construction zone in Notre-Dame-de-Montauban in the Mauricie on Sunday. 

André Durocher, a spokesperson for CAA-Québec, said the spike could be due to changes in Quebecers' travelling patterns amid the trade war with the United States. 

"More people announced their intention to spend their vacation in Quebec," he said, adding there were probably more people on the road because of it.

One woman was killed in a three-vehicle collision in Cowansville in the Eastern Townships on Sunday and the driver of a heavy truck also died after losing control of his vehicle in Saint-Moïse, near Rimouski, Que.

Gino Desrosiers, the spokesperson for Quebec's automobile insurance board — the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec — said the vast majority of these collisions are preventable.

"It's human behaviour. So we're talking about speeding, distraction, impaired driving, fatigue," he said.

Provincial police agreed that human error is at play in most collisions and added that failure to wear appropriate safety equipment is also a contributing factor in the number of serious injuries and deaths.

Speeding, distractions such as smart phones and impaired driving were some of the reoccurring causes in these collisions, said Lt. Joyce Campbell, who is responsible for road safety for the SQ. 

More than half of the 30 crashes involved only one vehicle, she said.

"When there's a human factor that's involved, that means these collisions can be avoided."