SAINTE-ROSE-DE-WATFORD, QUÉBEC — A child is dead, and 17 others were injured after a school bus carrying local children overturned Saturday morning in southeastern Quebec.
Provincial police said four people sustained serious injuries, including the bus driver, but none of the injuries are immediately life-threatening.
Another 13 sustained minor injuries, police said.
Samuel Poulin, the minister responsible for the Chaudière-Appalaches region, said the bus was carrying cadets.
Frédéric Deshaies, a spokesperson for Quebec provincial police, said the bus was travelling south on a local road in Sainte-Rose-de-Watford when it slipped to the left before tipping over, possibly due to difficult road conditions.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
Premier François Legault responded on X to express his support for the young cadets and the community of Sainte-Rose-de-Watford.
“I am wholeheartedly with the loved ones of the young victim who died today in the overturning of a school bus in Chaudière-Appalaches,” he wrote.
Autobus Auger, which owns the bus involved in the accident, expressed condolences in a Facebook post.
“We are in shock and wish to extend our sincerest condolences to the family of the victim,” wrote Autobus Auger president Sylvain Auger. “Our thoughts are with these young people, their families, and everyone affected by this tragedy.”
Sainte-Rose-de-Watford is a small community of just over 700 people, 35 kilometres from Saint-Georges, near the U.S. border.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2026.
The Canadian Press
