20 Years of Villages-relais: Looking Back on a Milestone Anniversary

Le Journal de Québec recently published an excellent piece on the history of the rest-stop network. We encourage you to read it in full to understand how the need for a complementary offering, the Villages-relais, came about. With that context in place, let’s take a moment today to look back on our own story.

Meeting a Need

In the early 2000s, the [Quebec] government had just completed an extensive review of ways to ensure traveller safety. After many years marked by the closure or privatization of certain rest stops, it tried a different approach: sharing responsibility for rest stops while expanding the network’s coverage.

Alongside public-private partnerships, the government developed the Village-relais concept. Both approaches had the same goal, but Villages-relais stood out because an entire community took part in this safety mission. The bet was that this new service offering would generate economic benefits and tourism visibility for municipalities that wanted to obtain accreditation.

And that is how Danville became the very first accredited Village-relais!

The program relied on communities joining forces rather than on isolated rest stops. In doing so, it gave municipalities another way to stand out to travellers looking for a safe place to stop. Many municipalities put up their hands to join this new network. Its popularity created a need for a collective body, which took shape in 2009 with the creation of the Fédération des Villages-relais du Québec (FVRQ). Since then, the FVRQ has represented accredited municipalities before the government and has overseen the program’s development and the optimization of the network’s economic benefits.

Holding the Fort

In the years that followed, the network grew quickly. In under 15 years, it went from a handful of municipalities to more than 40 and covered every region of Quebec [to be validated]. Despite a few departures, this growth proved right those who had believed in the mission and showed travellers’ interest in this offering.

Then came the pandemic, with its share of difficulties that hit member municipalities head-on. To respond to travellers’ changing needs and to the problems its members were facing, the FVRQ had to rethink its approach. The result: an update to its quality charter that reflects the new reality of services in the regions.

Looking Ahead

Thanks to the support of signatory merchants and the teams at member municipalities, we can keep moving the network forward. It now includes nearly 60 member Villages-relais and serves 17 of Quebec’s tourist regions [to be validated]. Together, we make a network stronger than ever.

Our work is never finished. Your contribution, big or small, helps the network grow. What comments or questions would you like to share with us? Get in touch.

Thank you for travelling Quebec with us.