Société des traversiers du Québec, known as STQ, is Canada’s second-largest ferry operator and carries around five million passengers and 2.3 million vehicles on 13 routes operated by 23 vessels per year.
While the country’s single largest ferry network is located on the west coast in British Columbia, STQ is active on the east coast, notably in the Saint Lawrence river and estuary. A Crown corporation, STQ is owned by the Province of Quebec by virtue of operating its ferry services within a single province.
“We are fully controlled by the province – it covers 85 per cent of our annual expenditure while the remaining 15 per cent is generated from ticket sales and onboard spend,” says Greta Bédard, STQ’s president and CEO, who joined the organisation in 2001, having started her career in the maritime industry 15 years earlier when she graduated from Quebec’s Maritime Institute as a navigation officer. Bédard then became the company’s first female leader when she took the helm in early 2023.
“Our first mission is to serve the local community and the islands, some of which are really remote,” says Bédard. “Our ferry network is part of the province’s road infrastructure which is why the typical lifeline ferry services, representing a throughput of some two million passengers, are free of charge. As we operate 24/7 for 365 days per year, reliability is paramount. That’s why a dependable and robust ferry service, as well as proper port infrastructure, are essential in our strategic plans, the next of which will be launched in April 2025.”
Greta Bédard joined STQ in 2001 and became the organisation’s first female leader in 2023
When Bédard was appointed the company’s leader just over two years ago, she also implemented her own 2023-2026 strategic plan in parallel with the company’s five-year plan. Called Horizon 2026, it focuses on the service element, human resources and public affairs. “We are omnipresent in the province and are part of the Quebec community. Therefore, we have to act responsibly, especially when it comes to the environment,” she says, adding that the company was one of the co-founders of Green Marine, the leading environmental certification programme for North America’s maritime industry.
STQ introduced its first LNG-powered ferry, the Fincantieri-built F.-A.-Gauthier, in 2015. The flagship of the STQ fleet was the first LNG dual-fuel ro-pax ferry in North America and was followed three years later by the smaller, locally built open-deck Armand-Imbeau II and Jos-Deschênes II. However, the introduction of F.-A.-Gauthier was marred by a number of setbacks which affected the reliability of the single-ship Matane to Baie-Comeau and Godbout routes on which it operated. To guarantee continuity, STQ purchased a secondhand vessel in the form of the double-ender Saaremaa, which was subsequently renamed Saaremaa I when joining STQ in spring 2019. Saaremaa I now operates as a relief vessel and has added redundancy to STQ’s ferry system, enabling it to offer as reliable a service as possible.
F.-A.-Gauthier, Armand-Imbeau II and Jos-Deschênes II will continue using LNG as primary fuel source for the rest of their life in the STQ fleet, but as the older generation of vessels is gradually phased out, they will be replaced by new hybrid-electric ships. STQ already has a three-ship newbuild project on the table. “We will also consider biofuel for existing ships and might equally retrofit some of them with batteries to warrant emissions-free manoeuvring in port,” says Bédard. “Even so, the newbuild project is our number one priority as electrification of public transport is also high on the province’s agenda. A budget for the three-ship series has already been reserved by the province’s Ministry of Transport and Durable Mobility, but our wish is that these newbuilds signal a further fleet renewal. Standardisation will be the name of the game, very much like [Canadian operator] BC Ferries has done with its Island-class ferries. The series of vessels will have a standard width, although the length of the platform may vary depending on the routes they service.”
As a government organisation, STQ’s procurement procedure for the new double-ended ferries must be transparent and almost every step in the process put out to tender. Concept Naval, a local naval architecture consultancy with whom STQ has a longstanding partnership, has already been selected as the naval architect as has shipbroker Simsonship.
“We have sent out the tender for the shore power integrator as the battery-powered newbuilds will be recharged with hydroelectric power while in port,” says Bédard. “Within the next year, we expect to send an invitation to bid on building the hybrid-electric ferries with the aim of introducing the first ship in 2029.”
The vessels will provide regular services on the L’Isle-aux-Coudres to Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive and cross-Saint Lawrence Sorel-Tracy to St-Ignace-De-Loyola routes. While Canada’s Davie shipyard has built several ferries for STQ in the past, including the latest LNG-powered pair, it is too early to speculate on which yard will build the next-generation ferries. “I can promise that we will do our homework and let politics decide whether to build abroad or locally,” says Bédard. “Our long-term plan is to replace all diesel-powered ferries with hybrid-electric newbuilds, but we will start with these three ships. While this is our ambition, the economic climate will ultimately dictate where we will land in 15 years from now.”
STQ operates 23 ferries on 13 routes, carrying more than five million passengers and 2.3 million vehicles annually
In April, STQ will submit a new strategic plan that will partially be along the lines of its 2020-2025 strategic plan, ending on 31 March. The 2020-2025 plan was structured around four major challenges-cum-strategic orientations: customer experience, asset performance, effectiveness and efficiency, and maintaining services. A fifth pillar has been added to the upcoming strategic plan, which prominently features customer experience and asset performance once again.
“We have to maximise the customer experience, but at the same time, we are poised to increase the onboard spend with higher sales from our in-house food and beverage outlets and onboard shops,” says Bédard. “STQ should become synonymous with a durable company that offers a customer service that is second-to-none. We continuously consult our customers and the latest customer experience survey shows an 82 per cent customer satisfaction rate and we’re aiming to reach 90 per cent. We are just below this threshold as we had some reliability issues with older tonnage, which illustrates why asset performance is equally crucial. In 2024, we managed to operate 94.3 per cent of the advertised sailings, but to offer an even more reliable service, we have started to focus on preventive maintenance of our ships and port infrastructure, especially when it comes to critical systems.”
As Bédard explains, customer experience and asset performance are about much more than offering a reliable and robust ferry service alone. “Digitalisation is key to further improve the customer experience and it’s part of the modernisation challenge we have adopted in our new strategic plan. It’s all about real-time timetable updates and alerts, ticket purchases and a long list of other things that customers expect in the digital era. Our staff actively take part in this transition and are being trained to offer a better service.”
Bédard admits that as a government-owned company, it’s a challenge to retain these staff. “We have added employee experience in our latest strategic plan,” she says. “The problem is not to find staff, but rather retain employees as our average wages are below what the private sector offers. We therefore focus on the employee experience and their wellbeing. Many of our staff live in remote areas and one of the benefits we offer compared to other shipowners is a good work-family balance. We have also created the STQ Academy and have put safety and security at the heart of our operations. This is also part of a culture of health and a safety culture we want to offer them.”
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