A year ago, I said I wanted to prove that sustainable development in Quebec was more than just a metro or streetcar and that it was time to spur environmental innovation in every region of Quebec.
A year ago, we in Victoriaville decided that we would be heard more than ever, that we would become inspiring leaders because the environment is in the DNA of our city and region. After a year, we’re on the right track.
Victoriaville has spared no effort to achieve its ambitious sustainable development goals. We recently hired the world’s first senior scientific advisor to the municipalities to support us in making environmental decisions.
We also announced that we will soon publish a strategy to become the most connected city in Quebec with the addition of several electric charging stations. We have just launched an innovative application to revolutionize public transport on our lands. Victoriaville will also become the first mid-sized city in Quebec to deploy the Communauto car-sharing service, which is already present in Montreal, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières and Gatineau.
Financial support
While some remain adamant about the metro, third link and streetcar line, Victoriaville has been awarded a $25.5 million provincial grant to support its efforts to combat climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop sustainable mobility.
This financial support will enable the decarbonization of all municipal buildings. We will suddenly reduce more than 20% of our corporate emissions within three years. We will also launch an assistance program for businesses and industries to encourage them to follow suit on decarbonisation.
In addition to these initiatives, many other important projects are underway such as biodiversity protection, heat island reduction, canopy augmentation and much more.
Circular economy
In addition to all of these green initiatives, we also have an ambition to make Victoriaville the place where the next major global innovations in sustainable development will be born. We want to position ourselves as a leader in the circular economy, which is the economy of the future, by pooling the experience of the city, private companies and higher education institutions in the city of circular innovation.
La Cité is our flagship project to have a real impact on the world around us. We want to build a major joint innovation center that will be the convergence place for research and development in the field of circular economy. This laboratory will enable large companies such as Cascades and Sani Marc, two important partners in this project, to innovate. It will also enable our educational institutions to train the researchers of tomorrow. This project motivates me to the highest degree.
The environment is everyone’s business. If we want to have a real impact, we will have to collaborate and join forces. For elected municipal officials with an ambitious vision, know that Victoriaville’s doors are wide open to create partnerships, discuss and share our innovations in order to accelerate the green transition. This particularly includes our municipal leadership. Together, we can achieve the things that will impact our communities.
Antoine Tardif Mayor of Victoriaville
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