Crowd boos Cantley, Que., council after densification vote

A municipal council in western Quebec got an earful Tuesday night when they acted against the wishes of hundreds of residents by voting for a new 20-year plan that will bring more intensification to the community.

Cantley, which had a population of 11,500 as of the 2021 census, sits about 20 kilometres north of Gatineau. The municipality's southern section is more densely populated than its more rural northern area, which includes Mont Cascades ski resort and water park.

Quebec set new provincial land use guidelines last year asking municipalities to protect the environment by limiting sprawl, and to achieve that by concentrating growth in urban areas.

Some residents have loudly resisted what they see as the diminishment of Cantley's small-town character, however. A short-term rental ban was enacted there in 2023, only to be reversed by council shortly after.

On Tuesday, protesters packed Cantley's council chamber to voice their concerns about the densification plan and the construction it will bring. 

Mayor David Gomes and four council members voted for the plan, eliciting boos from the crowd. Gomes argued Cantley can welcome more residents to its urban areas in a methodical and strategic way that might include a single five-storey building and a handful of three- or four-storey ones.

"Densification will happen," Gomes told Radio-Canada in French earlier this week. "We don't want a severe, very aggressive densification — we want gentle densification that respects [the community's] character."

Coun. Nathalie Bélisle, who voted against the changes with fellow Coun. Jean Bosco, expressed concerns earlier this week that Cantley might lack the water supply and sewer infrastructure to support such growth, and said she would have liked to see more studies.

Other opponents argued Route 307, which connects the community to Gatineau, lacks the capacity to handle more traffic.