Construction Holiday on Place D'armes

Bank of Montreal, 1847

In Quebec, the last two full weeks of July are called Construction Holiday. It is a time when most construction workers go on vacation. As well, many affected non-construction employees also take the opportunity to take their holiday at the time same time.

This Quebec tradition began 39 years ago and today, as many as 135, 000 residential and commercial construction workers are off until August 2.

Construction holiday time however means that the Surete du Quebec are out on highway patrol more frequently with additional speed traps and drunk driving checkpoints. Sadly while the rest of the province goes to sleep, the number of traffic related deaths increases and the first three days of this period is known to be the deadliest time of the year.