The current U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory at the date of this report’s publication assesses Canada at Level 1, indicating travelers should exercise normal precautions.

Overall Crime and Safety Situation

The U.S. Consulate General in Québec does not assume responsibility for the professional ability or integrity of the persons or firms appearing in this report. The American Citizen Services (ACS) Unit cannot recommend a particular individual or location and assumes no responsibility for the quality of service provided.

Review OSAC’s Canada-specific page for original OSAC reporting, consular messages, and contact information, some of which may be available only to private-sector representatives with an OSAC password.

Crime Threats

There is minimal risk from crime in Québec City. In general, street crime throughout Canada is below or at U.S. levels for comparable metropolitan areas. Québec City has one of the lowest crime rates of any city in the province of Québec. There is no evidence to suggest that criminals target U.S. travelers for any criminal activity in Québec City.

Both the Service de police de la Ville de Québec (SPVQ) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) consider Old City Québec, where the majority of tourist sites and hotels are located, relatively safe. The Old City is an enjoyable area of restaurants and boutiques during the day and early evening. However, one may encounter open use of recreational drugs and alcohol, as well as occasional incidents of violence outside bars as they close. Throughout the Province of Québec, the legal drinking age is 18. For more information, please review OSAC’s report, Shaken: The Don’ts of Alcohol Abroad.

Procuring the services of a prostitute as well as impeding traffic for the purposes of prostitution is illegal.

With a population of more than 575,000, Québec City has a Crime Severity Index rating of 51; the Canadian national average is 71. This places the city 145^th out of 229 metropolitan centers in Canada in terms of crime severity. Québec City’s Violent Crime Severity Index rating is 60, well below the Canadian average of 75, placing it 109^th of 229 metropolitan centers.  

Cybersecurity Issues

Cybersecurity or Internet-related crime issues are similar to those identified in the United States. Practice careful internet usage and guard all financial transactions, particularly when using an unsecure internet connection.

In October 2018, Canada stood up the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS, or CyberCentre) to serve as the single unified source of expert advice, guidance, services, and support on cyber security operational matters for government, critical infrastructure owners and operations, the private sector, and the Canadian public.

One of the top priorities of the CCCS is to inform Canadians about cyber security matters. On December 6, 2018, the Cyber Centre released Canada’s first National Cyber Threat Assessment. This first public report from the Cyber Centre examines the cyber threats facing Canadian citizens, Canadian businesses, and Canada’s critical infrastructure. The National Cyber Threat Assessment identifies current trends in the cyber threat environment and the likelihood that these cyber threats will occur, and how they could affect Canadians.

Other Areas of Concern

There are many restrictions in the use of drones in Canada. Starting in June 2019, new federal legislation will require licenses for all drone operators. An online course will be a prerequisite to operate a drone regardless of purpose.

Transportation-Safety Situation

For more information, review OSAC’s report, Security in Transit: Airplanes, Public Transport, and Overnights.

Road Safety and Road Conditions

Road conditions in Québec City are similar to those found in larger U.S. cities. Visitors driving in the winter months must prepare for winter driving conditions in a northern climate. Québec City does an excellent job clearing streets after snowstorms, but drivers can expect 12-hour parking restrictions for plowing. Québec City is a tourist-friendly city; movement throughout the city and province is unrestricted. Travelers should not experience any security related issues driving around Québec. Right turns on a red light are illegal on the island of Montreal, but no signage advises of this prohibition; it is also illegal elsewhere in Québec, but signage exists. 

Sûreté du Québec (Québec Provincial Police, SQ) routinely sets up vehicle checkpoints on main roads/highways to interdict impaired drivers. Drivers must use hands-free cellular phones while driving. If you must leave valuable items in the car, keep them locked in the trunk.

For information on auto insurance in Québec, visit the Société de l’Assurance Automobile. For more information on self-driving, review OSAC’s report, Driving Overseas: Best Practices.

Public Transportation Conditions

Public transportation is safe and popular with locals and tourists alike. There are many forms of public transportation in Québec City: trains, local buses, ferries, taxi, and shuttle services. No forms of public transportation or neighborhoods are off limits for Consulate personnel. Taxi service is always available through the concierge at a hotel or by calling directly and is a safe way to travel. Rideshare applications are also available. Taxis from the airport to downtown are set at a fixed rate, but taxis to the airport (and other locations) have meters. Cash and credit cards are the safest ways to pay for taxi fare, following reports in other Canadian cities of frauds involving debit card use in taxis.

Via Rail Canada is the sole passenger service in the area, with railway stations in Sainte-Foy near the bridge, and Old City at la Gare de Palais.

Aviation/Airport Conditions

Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB) is 11 miles (18 kilometers) from the city center. A drive between the two locations takes about 30 minutes. The airport is relatively small, yet very efficient by U.S. standards. The airport adheres to international air safety standards and management of flight operations. Security measures are on par with U.S. airports. Security personnel are trained and effective in the performance of their duties. 

Other Travel Conditions

Before departure, make sure you can make your trip safely by consulting the Transports Ministry’s Québec 511 Info Transports for information on road network conditions, and/or weather websites for information on weather conditions.

Use extra caution while driving in Québec in the winter. Even in good weather, black ice and sudden blizzards may occur.

Parking within the Old City can reach capacity quickly during tourist and construction periods. Park outside the old city walls and spend an enjoyable walk into the picturesque neighborhood.

Terrorism Threat

There is minimal risk from terrorism in Montréal. There are no known specific terrorist threats directed against official or private U.S. interests in the province of Québec. The main terrorist threat to Canada continues to stem from violent extremists inspired by terrorist groups, such as ISIS and (to a lesser extent) al-Qa’ida. These groups continue to encourage followers abroad to employ simple attacks using knives or vehicles to inflict harm on civilian populations. Right-wing extremism is also a growing concern in Canada.

In 2014, Canada’s Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre (ITAC) elevated its domestic terrorism threat level from LOW to MEDIUM, indicating “an individual or group within Canada or abroad has the intent and capability to commit an act of terrorism in Canada.” There has been no change to Canada’s national terrorism threat level since then.

Recent terrorism incidents with links to Québec include:

• On June 21, 2017, Amor Ftouhi, a Canadian citizen and resident of Montréal, attacked and stabbed a police officer at Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan. During the attack, Ftouhi referenced killings in Syria and Afghanistan. Officers subdued and arrested him, and he is pending trial in Detroit. An FBI spokesperson stated that “a hatred for the United States” had motivated Ftouhi.
• On January 29, 2017, Alexandre Bissonnette, a Québec resident and University of Laval student, killed six men and injured many others during a shooting at a Québec City mosque. Bissonnette, who is facing up to 150 years in prison on six counts of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder using a restricted firearm, pleaded guilty on March 28, 2018. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Québec Premier Philippe Couillard both called the shooting a terrorist attack, but authorities did not charge Bissonnette with committing terrorism offences.
• In 2016, police arrested Ayanle Hassan Ali, a Montréal-born male, after a knife attack in a Canadian Forces recruitment center in Toronto. During the incident, he said, “Allah told me to come here and kill people.”

The Canadian Government continues to monitor and respond to the threat of individuals suspected of traveling abroad to engage in terrorist activity. Currently, over 190 extremists abroad with a nexus to Canada that Canada suspects of engaging in terrorist activity. In addition, the Canadian Government is aware of approximately 60 extremists who have returned to Canada. Since 2017, Canada has charged two individuals for having traveled abroad to engage in terrorist activities.

Political, Economic, Religious, and Ethnic Violence

Civil Unrest

There is minimal risk from political violence in Québec City. Demonstrations are, for the most part, peaceful, and occur on almost a daily basis during the springtime. In the winter, protests are infrequent due to the cold. Workers’ unions, specific ethnic groups, or student associations usually lead demonstrations. Within the last five years, there have been no violent demonstrations targeting U.S. interests. SPVQ usually provides uniformed officers to facilitate the movement of traffic and intervenes should a protest get out of hand. The July 2018 G-7 conference in Charlevoix resulted in an exceptionally low volume of protest and civil unrest issues.

Religious/Ethnic Violence

The Canadian Constitution and other laws and policies protect religious freedom. When there are reports of societal discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practices, prominent societal leaders often take positive steps to promote religious freedom and condemn intolerance.

Post-specific Concerns

Environmental Hazards

Severe winter weather can represent a hazard. Québec City's Consular district has experienced winter ice storms and blizzards, followed by flooding in spring. Temperatures in late January can fall well below 0°F with strong winds. Environment Canada’s Meteorological Service provides updates about potentially hazardous weather. 

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change produces an hourly Air Quality Index report, with forecasts ranging from good to moderate air quality, similar to moderately sized U.S. cities.

A few mild earthquakes over the years have caused road erosion but no large-scale damage to infrastructure or human life.

Critical Infrastructure Concerns

Public Safety Canada identifies ten sectors of critical infrastructure (i.e. Health, Food, Finance, Water, Information and Communication Technology, Safety, Energy and Utilities, Manufacturing, Government, and Transportation). Canada’s critical infrastructure is massive, geographically dispersed, and owned by many different players, mostly in the private sector. Public Safety works with its partners to manage risks and reduce vulnerabilities across these sectors. Federal, provincial, and territorial governments, together with critical infrastructure owners/operators, share responsibility for critical infrastructure. Individuals also have a responsibility to be prepared for disruption and ready to cope for at least the first 72 hours of an emergency.

Canada and the United States share cross border critical infrastructure that govern the movement of people and goods. With refineries, nuclear facilities, large manufacturing operations, and other infrastructure located in close proximity to the border, as well as energy, critical supply and transportation networks that cross the border, impacts from disruptions can and do cross international jurisdictions. The Canada-United States Action Plan for Critical Infrastructure promotes resilience and an integrated approach to critical infrastructure protection by enhancing coordination of activities and facilitating continuous dialogue among cross-border stakeholders.

Economic Concerns

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and other Canadian law enforcement agencies are responsible for undertaking coordinated action to counter the threats posed by intellectual property crime within Canada. While the RCMP is a partner agency at the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, there were no known criminal prosecutions for counterfeiting in Canada in 2017. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) crime – copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting – is a growing international phenomenon that generates huge losses for legitimate industry, the economy, and the Government of Canada.

According to INTERPOL, this type of crime has confirmed links to organized crime and terrorism. In addition to the tremendous losses to government tax revenues and the legitimate Canadian economy, recent seizures of counterfeit goods (e.g. pharmaceuticals, electrical products, auto parts, contaminated shampoo/food products) show that unscrupulous counterfeiters can jeopardize the health and safety of consumers. Canada remains the only G7 country identified in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 2018 Special 301 Report; Canada’s downgrade to the Priority Watch List this year reflects a failure to resolve key longstanding deficiencies in protection and enforcement of Intellectual Property.

Significant concerns include poor border and law enforcement with respect to counterfeit or pirated goods, weak patent and pricing environment for innovative pharmaceuticals, deficient copyright protection, and inadequate transparency and due process regarding geographical indicators.

Privacy Concerns

There is relatively low risk to privacy concerns in Canada. Canada has two federal privacy laws:

The Privacy Act governs the personal information handling practices on some 250 federal institutions. It limits the collection, use, sharing, and disclosure of individuals’ personal information. It also gives individuals the right to access and request correction of personal information about themselves held by the federal government.

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) applies to the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information (e.g. age, name, ID numbers, and ethnic origin) in the course of commercial activity. Organizations and businesses must obtain an individual’s consent before collection, and individuals have the right to access and challenge the accuracy of their personal information held by an organization. PIPEDA is exempt in provinces that have privacy legislations similar to it; Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta have adopted private-sector legislation deemed substantially similar to the federal law.

Oversight of both federal Acts rests with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, who receives and investigates complaints.

Personal Identity Concerns

There are no legal restrictions on same-sex sexual relations or the organization of LGBTI events in Canada.

Although Canada has effectively implemented laws mandating access to buildings for persons with disabilities, individuals with disabilities may find accessibility and accommodation very different from what you find in the United States.

Kidnapping Threat

Kidnapping for ransom is rare. However, dozens of international parental child abductions occur each year between the United States and Canada, with courts in both countries applying the Hague Abduction Convention. All provinces have their own central authority, which have strong relationships with the United States. They generally coordinate directly with the Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues on international child abduction cases, so the Consulate rarely becomes involved.

The National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains is an RCMP unit that maintains a national database for finding missing people and identifying human remains that links investigators nationwide when their cases match. The database provides support to police, coroners, and medical examiners and lets them compare their findings.

Drug-related Crimes

In August 2017, SPVQ carried a series of raids targeting a locally operated drug trafficking ring. The ring specialized in selling cocaine, meth, marijuana, and other drugs, including gamma-hydroxybutyrate acid (a date rape drug) and Fentanyl (an opioid drug 40 times stronger than heroin and 50-100 times more potent than morphine).

Fentanyl is linked to overdoses and deaths in Québec and across Canada in the last several years. Find Opioid-related harms and death information on the Health Canada website. Québec pharmacies now offer free a drug to reverse the effect of fentanyl in the event of an overdose.

SPVQ, SQ, and RCMP continue to target biker gangs (particularly the Hell’s Angels and Rock Machine), illegal labs, and trafficking networks. Over the last decade, there has been an increase in violence and murder related to drugs. In greater Québec, many of the drug-territory incidents and deaths have involved use of bombs by biker gangs.

Sentences for drug-related crimes are shorter and less harsh than in the U.S. and other Western nations. For example, minimum sentencing requirements for trafficking three kilograms (6.6 lbs.) or more of marijuana, cocaine, or heroin carries a one-year mandatory minimum sentence. (In the U.S., minimum sentencing for trafficking of marijuana, cocaine, or heroin carries mandatory minimum sentences of 5-20 years depending on the weight.) 

Police Response

Victims can rely on police to respond to calls for service in a timely manner. Police agencies and emergency medical services in the Québec City area have the same capabilities as U.S. emergency services. SPVQ is very proactive and responsive when dealing with all types of criminal activity. SPVQ patrols the city, and is the primary first responder in the case of an emergency. The capabilities of city and federal law enforcement agencies are on par with their U.S. counterparts. SPVQ and RCMP meet routine and emergency requests for police assistance from the Regional Security Office efficiently and expertly.

Crime Victim Assistance

Anyone in need of police support or emergency services should dial 911.

Police/Security Agencies

• Federal Police: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is the national police service and an agency of the Ministry of Public Safety Canada. RCMP is unique in that it is a national, federal, provincial, and municipal policing body. RCMP provides a federal policing service to all Canadians and policing services under contract to the three territories, eight provinces (all except Ontario and Québec), more than 190 municipalities, 184 Aboriginal communities, and three international airports.

• Québec Provincial Police: SQ is the provincial police force for Québec. SQ employs roughly 5,200 officers. The primary function of SQ is to enforce provincial laws, some municipal bylaws, the Criminal Code, and many other laws throughout Québec, and to assist municipal police forces when needed. SQ is also responsible for providing municipal police services to municipalities in the province that do not otherwise have municipal or regional police services. The force also patrols provincial highways. In addition, SQ can investigate any incident that involves wrongdoing by a municipal police force or a case where a police intervention caused death.

• Québec Local Police (Service de Police de la Ville de Québec, SPVQ) are the municipal police force with jurisdiction in the city of Québec. SPVQ is typically the primary first law enforcement responder in the case of any emergency. SPVQ respond to emergency 911 calls, and to all calls for service at the U.S. Consulate.

Medical Emergencies

Emergency medical care is reliable and on par with any major U.S. hospital. Individuals can walk into emergency rooms or, if needed, dial 911 for ambulance service.

Contact Information for Available Medical Services

For medical assistance, refer to the Consulate’s Medical Assistance webpage.

Available Air Ambulance Service: Air Medic: 1-877-999-3322 or 450-766-0770

Insurance Guidance

Hospitals generally require up-front payment by cash or credit card, up to the total of all anticipated charges, from foreigners prior to services or treatment. Hospitals may waive up-front payment of other than a modest deposit if they have existing cashless agreements with at least some major international insurance providers. All hospitals provide some services free to Canadian citizens. All hospitals are required to provide emergency stabilization without regard to ability to pay. Provincial health insurance is available, at a cost, for all local residents if they do not have their own insurance. If visiting the area, it is best to pre-arrange insurance coverage prior to visiting.

Country-specific Vaccination and Health Guidance

The CDC offers additional information on vaccines and health guidance for Canada.

OSAC Country Council Information

There is no Country Council in Québec City. Interested private-sector security managers should contact OSAC’s Western Hemisphere Team with any questions.

U.S. Consulate Location and Contact Information

Consulate Address and Hours of Operation

2 rue de la Terrasse-Dufferin, Québec City, Québec  G1R 4T9

Monday-Friday 0900 – 1630

Consulate Contact Numbers

Switchboard: 418-692-2095

Post 1: 418-692-4023

Website: https://ca.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/Québec/

Nearby Posts: Embassy Ottawa, Consulate Calgary, Consulate Halifax, Consulate Montreal, Consulate Toronto, Consulate Vancouver, Consulate Winnipeg

Consulate Guidance

U.S. citizens traveling to Canada should register with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to ensure they receive pertinent security updates and notices.

Additional Resource: Canada Information Sheet