News

A centuries-old wetland acquired by the Town of St. Lazare just over two decades ago in an effort to preserve it is slowly drying out, studies show, prompting the municipality to take action. But it needs help from Quebec.

The future of the small town of Pointe Fortune is doomed. It will not survive the construction of the proposed Alto high-speed train, said Mayor Sandra Lavoratore following a meeting late last month with officials with the consortium planning the passenger train line between Quebec City and Toronto.

Flames ripped through a house on Blueberry Forest Street in St. Lazare on Oct. 22, gutting the residence and claiming the lives of the homeowners’ two dogs.

Already investigating nearly 70 drive-by-shootings in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region in the past month, the Sûreté du Québec is now also busy probing the vandalism and theft from public mailboxes in St. Lazare — acts that have been denounced by local municipal representatives who are calling on police and public security to do more to quell the crimes.

The husband of a St. Lazare woman killed when she was run over by a vehicle near her home a year ago, was in court last week, where Quebec Court Judge Pierre Olivier Gagnon set the date for his preliminary hearing — Oct. 25, 2027.

The little town of Vaudreuil sur le Lac is going to borrow $2.57 million to buy a second tract of woodland to add to its holdings, creating a public forested park that spans 50.5 acres.

The 1019 region’s two rookie MNAs are looking forward to holding the Parti Québécois government to account in the upcoming parliamentary session, pointing to their new roles in the Liberal shadow cabinet highlight their professional backgrounds.

The Parti Québécois government’s commitment of $28 million in emergency funding to homeless shelters to prepare for the coming winter is a positive step, said Vaudreuil MNA James Hughes, the recently appointed Liberal critic on the file. However, he added that his party is pushing for the government to get these funds to the shelters as soon as possible.

The bereaved family of Codey Daly, a popular local bar owner who died tragically in the summer of 2024 when he was crushed by a boat trailer against the garage door of a residence in Les Cèdres, will have to wait until at least next spring to find out if the man charged with causing his death will go to prison or serve his sentence under house arrest.

With St. Lazare Mayor Geneviève Lachance calling for calm, the Sûreté du Québec has launched a major investigation into nearly 70 reported incidents of drive-by shootings in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region – incidents that have instilled fear and anger among residents of at least seven municipalities.

After posting a 3-per-cent drop in the first half of 2026, housing prices in Vaudreuil-Soulanges have seen a slight uptick in the last three months, a small move that has nudged the region to be listed as one of only two areas in Greater Montreal where the median selling price of a single-family home has not dropped in the third quarter of the year, according to the latest...

FREDERIC SERRE The 1019 Report A Sûreté du Québec investigation is under way into a fatal accident in Rigaud on Monday that claimed the life of a motorcyclist. While the SQ won’t reveal the victim’s age or identity, a spokesman for the provincial police confirmed the crash occurred when the biker slammed into another vehicle. The accident occurred at about 5 p.m. on Chemin des Prairies near Highway...

After months of discussion, Rigaud is easing restrictions on development it had imposed nearly two years ago due to concerns about its aging wastewater treatment plant.

After long delays before opening for the season, the Hudson-Oka ferry is in service, but only with one boat.

The long-awaited project to renovate the Soulanges Sports Centre in St. Polycarpe is set to take a step forward this month.

Rigaud town council added its voice to that of neighbouring Pointe Fortune last week to officially oppose the proposed Quebec City-Toronto high-speed rail project, which could cut through their territories.

Former NDP MP Charlie Angus was in Hudson last Friday night as he made a stop in his ongoing cross-Canada series of town hall-style meetings.

BRENDA O’FARRELLThe 1019 Report Dozens of maple syrup operators across the province opened their doors to the public last Sunday to mark the Journée Nationale de l’Érable, a celebration of the iconic Quebec product and how it is fuelling a growing agricultural sector. Among the maple producers participating in the event was the Érablière St-Henri, one of the largest commercial maple operations in the region that is nestled...

Liberals claimed decisive victories in the two main ridings in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region Monday, propping up the party’s better-than-expected showing that allowed it to claim official opposition status in the National Assembly.

It’s been more than two months, but the Sûreté du Québec’s major crimes unit is continuing to investigate a violent home invasion that injured five occupants and shook a quiet neighbourhood in St. Lazare.

With a referendum set for later this month that will decide whether the little town of Vaudreuil sur le Lac moves forward with a proposed purchase of a privately owned woodland, residents in favour of the move were marching through the streets Sunday, hoping to bolster support for the cause.

Soulanges Party                                        Candidate                                            Votes                                       % of vote Liberal                                  Olivier Bertin-Mahieux            14,273                                    35.7%  ✔️            PQ                                       Francis Deroo                                    10,123                                     25.3%                                      Conservative                    Kristian Solarik                                  7,067                                        17.7%                                      CAQ                                    Marilyne Picard                                5,527                                        13.8%                    Quebec Solidaire          Florian Martin                                     2,406                                        6%                            Canadian Party               Joseph Cianflone                            485                                         1.2%of Quebec                                                                                                                                                         Démocratie Directe    Jules Briand                                         136                                             0.3% Number of polls reporting: 176/176 Voter turnout: 68.77% Vaudreuil Party                                        Candidate                                            Votes                                       % of vote Liberal                                    James Hughes                                 18,783                                    46.8% ✔️ PQ                                        Meili Faille                                           7,980                                        19.9%...

A new indoor soccer centre in Pincourt is set to open its doors to the public later this month, offering an array of high-tech training and tools for fans of the beautiful game.

Former mayor of Vaudreuil-Dorion Guy Pilon was honoured last week, when the city formally named its public square at the entrance of its new city hall complex in his honour.

In what is being touted as “the largest federal investment in cultural infrastructure” in the region’s history, the Canadian government announced an additional contribution of $630,000 to fund the renovation and expansion of Hudson Village Theatre — a move that could see the long-planned project break ground before the end of the month.

BRENDA O’FARRELLThe 1019 Report – Local Journalism Initiative “It’s going to be the death of my village.” That stark prediction came from the mayor of Pointe Fortune last week as she was asked to describe the impact the proposed multi-billion-dollar Alto high-speed train project to link Quebec City with Toronto will have on her little town — the second smallest municipality in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region. That is, of...

Hundreds of farmers and residents from rural communities across Quebec and eastern Ontario were in Rigaud last Saturday demanding the federal government halt its plans for the proposed Alto high-speed train from Quebec City to Toronto.

A recent poll that ranks the happiest towns in Quebec has put a smile on some faces in St. Lazare, as it came in 5th place on a list of 85 happiest municipalities in the province, according to survey by Quebec marketing firm Léger.

Soulanges CAQ incumbent Marilyne Picard is being “dishonest” for failing to declare whether she is a federalist or a sovereignist, charged West Island Liberal candidate Monsef Derraji yesterday while in St. Lazare for a press conference.

After years of strained relations between the Quebec government and the province’s English-language schools, the region’s largest English school board is hoping a new government will bring a more collaborative attitude to this relationship.

Improving medical access for seniors and managing the shortage of family doctors are among the top challenges the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area faces when it comes to medical care, says the head of the association of family doctors in the region.

As voters prepare to go to the voting booth in the Oct. 5 election in what pollsters are predicting to be a tight race, The 1019 Report takes a look back at the results of the last provincial election in 2022 in the two ridings in the region.

An environmental group tasked with removing water chestnuts from the bays along the 1019 region’s northern shores says it has seen a drop in the number of these invasive plants this summer. While this is an encouraging sign, the group indicates that next year will determine whether this is a sustained trend.

FREDERIC SERRE The 1019 Report – Local Journalism Initiative A trucker is facing fines of more than $2,000 and his licence has been suspended after he was captured on a surveillance camera dangerously backing his vehicle on Highway 20 in Les Cèdres last week to get to a truck weighing station. The manoeuvre, which took place last Wednesday afternoon, was denounced by the union representing Quebec’s highway control...

A Terrebonne trucker charged with beating a fellow female trucker unconscious two years ago during a shocking road rage incident on the Île aux Tourtes Bridge that was captured on video will learn his fate in two months when a Quebec Court judge renders her decision.

With a solid performance this weekend at a tournament for the world’s first professional women’s flag football league, an emerging star of the sport from St. Lazare is quickly making a name for herself as one of Canada’s best in the rapidly growing sport — and is preparing for the 2028 Olympics, when the sport will be introduced at the Games.

After deferring requests to add French to all its street signs — and delaying taking action for years — a threat from the Office québécois de la langue française that would result in provincial subsidies being withheld has finally prompted the Town of Hudson to adopt a formal plan to outline how it will conform to the province’s language laws.

The City of Vaudreuil-Dorion has dropped substantially on the Top 100 list of best cities for renters, according to a survey compiled by The Globe and Mail.

After deferring a vote on a bylaw to formally ban swimming at Sandy Beach in July, Hudson council at the end of August opted to drop the regulation all together.

The 15-year-old e-scooter driver critically injured after a violent hit-and-run incident in Les Cèdres early Aug. 23 emerged from a coma last week, but remains in hospital in serious condition. The encouraging news comes as the police investigation into the crash intensifies, with the Sûreté du Québec setting up a checkpoint on Highway 338 at the intersection of St. Féréol Road – the location of the incident —...

Amid Canada’s intensifying tariff war with the U.S., bond markets that are making mounting government debt more expensive to finance and the cost of living continuing to rise, leaders of all parties in the provincial election campaign are rolling out their election promises. In Vaudreuil-Soulanges, the Quebec Liberal party has made one major commitment — building the long-awaited Highway 20 bypass route through the Dorion section of Vaudreuil-Dorion.

The Town of Hudson wants Santé Québec to reverse course on how it handles 911 calls for non-life-threatening medical emergencies.

VIP en Blues, the Town of L’Île Perrot’s signature annual music festival, is returning for its 14th edition this weekend.

Notre Dame de l’Île Perrot’s annual Festival de la Soupe is returning for its 14th edition this weekend, with plans to attract thousands to enjoy a bowl and experience different communities and cultures.

About 1,000 protesters and 500 tractors are expected to converge in Rigaud on Sept. 19 as farmers from across Quebec and eastern Ontario step up their efforts to urge the federal government to halt its plans for the proposed Alto high-speed train from Quebec City to Toronto, claiming it would have devastating impacts on some of eastern Canada’s best farmland.

A man from Vaudreuil sur le Lac involved in a violent rear-end hit-and-run crash in 2024 in Pointe Claire that left a woman seriously injured has changed his plea to guilty and will be sentenced at the Montreal courthouse on Sept. 28.

The surveillance camera images are shocking and dramatic — from the moment the masked suspect enters the Sonic gas station convenience store in St. Lazare last Saturday evening armed with a rifle to the instant when 65-year-old Daljeet Singh suddenly grabs the barrel of the gun, initiating a struggle, a shot going off and the confrontation spilling outside with the suspect, suddenly unmasked, fleeing.

30 of 250 MDs secured so far BRENDA O’FARRELLThe 1019 Report - Local Journalism Initiative The new Vaudreuil-Soulanges Hospital will open its doors in the summer of 2028 with less than half of its needed staff hired, according to a spokesperson with Santé Québec Montérégie-Ouest. And so far, only 30 doctors of the 250 required have been contracted. “On the medical side, 12 per cent of the required...

Farmers and municipal representatives in a small corner of the 1019 region are sharing their concerns about the proposed Toronto-Quebec high-speed rail project, which they fear could see farms in Pointe Fortune and Rigaud cut off by the new train line.