Gatineau & l'Outaouais
Commercial Signage & Installation — Gatineau & the Outaouais
Installation d'enseignes commerciales — Gatineau & l'Outaouais
Gatineau is minutes across the river from our Ottawa shop — same crew, same day. We fabricate and install bilingual commercial signage for Gatineau businesses, including Bill 96-compliant French-predominant exterior signage and PIIA heritage sector permit coordination.
Fabrication et installation d'enseignes bilingues pour les entreprises de Gatineau — y compris les enseignes extérieures conformes à la Loi 96.
Lundon Calling is the Ottawa-Gatineau sign company for bilingual signage programs. We fabricate and install compliant French-predominant exterior signage, bilingual interior wayfinding, and full brand environments for businesses operating in the Outaouais. Our crew includes French-speaking members, we know the PIIA heritage sectors, and we understand both the OQLF requirements and the Ville de Gatineau permit process.
Signs designed and fabricated in both English and French — your brand identity preserved within Quebec Charter requirements, with French markedly predominant within the same visual field.
Exterior signage designed to meet section 58.1 of the Charter of the French Language and the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business, as amended effective June 1, 2025.
Vieux-Hull, Vieux-Aylmer, and other PIIA heritage sectors require CCU evaluation before a certificat d'autorisation will issue. We prepare the dossier and coordinate with SUDD.
We operate across both sides of the river — one company, French-speaking crew members, and direct relationships with Ville de Gatineau's urban planning service.
Bill 96 Signage Compliance — What Gatineau Businesses Need to Know
Bill 96 (officially the Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec / Loi sur la langue officielle et commune du Québec, le français) is the most significant change to commercial signage requirements in Quebec in decades. Assented June 1, 2022, its signage and trademark provisions came into full force on June 1, 2025.
Section 58.1 of the Charter of the French Language requires that French text occupy at least twice the space of any non-French text within the same visual field on all commercial signage visible from outside a premises in Quebec. This applies to fascia signs, window graphics, pylon signs, awning lettering, and any other exterior identification visible from a public space.
What “Markedly Predominant” Means in Practice
French must occupy at least twice the space within the same visual field as any other language — not just twice the character count, but twice the visual area. For dynamic or digital signage that alternates languages, French must be visible for at least twice as long as non-French content.
Non-French registered trademarks may appear on storefront signs, but must be accompanied by French (a generic term, product/service descriptor, or slogan) in the same visual field, with French markedly predominant. Pending trademark applications do not qualify for the exception.
There is no grace period for new public signage. The two-year grace period running through June 1, 2027 applies only to product packaging manufactured before June 1, 2025. Any new exterior sign installed after June 1, 2025 must comply with the French-predominant requirement immediately.
Penalties Under Section 205 of the Charter
Fines for non-compliant signage: individuals $700 to $7,000 per offence; corporations $3,000 to $30,000 per offence, $60,000 for a second offence, and $90,000 for repeat offences. Each day of non-compliance is a separate offence. The OQLF may also seek a Quebec Superior Court injunction ordering sign removal or destruction at the offender's expense.
What Lundon Calling Does
We design and fabricate exterior signage designed to meet section 58.1 of the Charter of the French Language and the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business as amended effective June 1, 2025 — ensuring your English brand identity is expressed within the Quebec Charter rules. We also handle the Ville de Gatineau certificat d'autorisation application.
OQLF Enforcement in 2025-2026
The Office québécois de la langue française has significantly increased enforcement activity since Bill 96 signage provisions came into force.
The OQLF received 10,371 complaints in the April 2024 to March 2025 reporting period — up approximately 14% year over year (Radio-Canada, citing the OQLF 2024-25 Annual Report).
The OQLF awarded a contract worth up to $350,000 for a mystery shopper study targeting 7,800 businesses (CBC News, March 4, 2026, citing OQLF spokesperson François Laberge). This program actively identifies non-compliant exterior signage for follow-up enforcement.
Beyond fines, the OQLF can seek a Quebec Superior Court injunction ordering non-compliant signs to be removed or destroyed at the owner's expense. Non-compliance is not a warning process — it is an active enforcement regime with escalating financial consequences for each day a non-compliant sign remains in place.
Signage Services in Gatineau
Exterior Bilingual Signage
French-predominant fascia signs, channel letters, and cabinet signs meeting Bill 96 requirements — French occupying at least twice the space of any non-French text within the same visual field.
Window Graphics (EN/FR)
Bilingual window lettering and promotional graphics for storefronts, designed to the 2:1 French-predominant rule for signage visible from outside the premises.
Interior Wayfinding
French and English interior directional signs and room identification for Gatineau commercial and institutional clients.
Vehicle Graphics
Bilingual fleet graphics for businesses operating across the Ottawa-Gatineau border — designed for both markets from one sign program.
PIIA Heritage Sector Permit Support
Signs in Vieux-Hull, Vieux-Aylmer, Vieux-Gatineau, Buckingham, and Masson-Angers require CCU evaluation and council approval before the certificat d'autorisation will issue. Lundon Calling prepares the PIIA dossier and tracks the process with the Service de l'urbanisme et du développement durable (SUDD).
Certificat d'Autorisation Coordination
Municipal permit applications (certificat d'autorisation) under Règlement 501-2005 for all commercial sign projects in Gatineau — submitted through the Ville de Gatineau's online portal with all required drawings and documentation.
Who We Work With in Gatineau
Gatineau's commercial base spans the old core sectors in Vieux-Hull and Vieux-Aylmer, the auto-oriented Maloney corridor, and the dense mixed-use redevelopment underway along Maisonneuve and Saint-Joseph.
Promenade du Portage / Rue Laval / Rue Eddy — Vieux-Hull
The Vieux-Hull core along Promenade du Portage, rue Laval, and rue Eddy is a PIIA heritage sector — any sign here requires CCU evaluation and council approval before the certificat d'autorisation will issue. This adds significant review time and design constraints. Lundon Calling knows the process and prepares PIIA-compliant submissions that satisfy the CCU's design criteria.
Boulevard Maisonneuve / Boulevard Saint-Joseph — Hull
The Maisonneuve and Saint-Joseph corridors are in active redevelopment — a mix of established mixed-use buildings and new commercial construction. Outside the PIIA zone, standard certificat d'autorisation rules apply under Règlement 502-2005. A bilingual sign program here typically runs faster than a Vieux-Hull PIIA application.
Boulevard Maloney — Auto-Oriented Commercial
Boulevard Maloney is Gatineau's auto-oriented commercial strip - larger pylon signs are typically permitted under the zoning rules in Règlement 502-2005, and this corridor is outside all PIIA heritage sectors. Faster permit pathway for businesses where high-visibility roadside signage is the priority.
Rue Principale Aylmer — Vieux-Aylmer
The Vieux-Aylmer heritage sector covers approximately 80 buildings along rue Principale between Boulevard Wilfrid-Lavigne and the Ottawa River, including the Auberge Charles-Symmes. Signs here require PIIA review. Recent enforcement at addresses on rue Principale demonstrates that Vieux-Aylmer applications receive careful scrutiny.
Lundon Calling as a Complementary Partner in the Rue Eddy Beautification
The Ville de Gatineau committed approximately $2 million over three years (2025-2027) to the rue Eddy storefront beautification program, led by the Bureau du centre-ville (director Catherine Bellemare) with political support from Hull-Wright councillor Steve Moran and commercial partnership from Vision Centre-Ville. Seven storefronts were hand-painted by January 2026 by lettering artist Pascale Arpin, with approximately 10 additional storefronts planned for 2026 (Le Droit, January 31, 2026).
Lundon Calling's role in this neighbourhood is as a complementary partner, not a competitor. The hand-painted mural work by Arpin and the program's lettering artists brings an authentic street-art dimension to the rue Eddy corridor. What we offer is the engineered counterpart: fabricated and mounted exterior signs, channel letters, and illuminated fascia systems that require structural attachment, permit applications, and lift-truck installation — work that falls outside a lettering artist's scope.
For rue Eddy businesses in Vieux-Hull, we prepare the PIIA heritage dossier, design hard signage that complements (not competes with) the hand-painted aesthetic, and manage the certificat d'autorisation process with the SUDD from start to finish.
Sign Permits in Gatineau: Certificat d'autorisation and PIIA
In Gatineau, commercial exterior signs require a certificat d'autorisation from the Ville de Gatineau. Three by-laws govern the process:
- Règlement 501-2005 — Règlement d'administration des règlements d'urbanisme: the administrative process for submitting and receiving the certificat d'autorisation.
- Règlement 502-2005 — Règlement de zonage: the substantive rules governing sign dimensions, placement, and illumination (Chapitre 21 covers exterior signs).
- Règlement 505-2005 — Règlement relatif aux plans d'implantation et d'intégration architecturale (PIIA): governs signs in Gatineau's five heritage sectors. A separate CCU evaluation and council approval is required before a certificat d'autorisation will issue in PIIA zones. The SUDD warns that PIIA review adds “délais importants pouvant aller jusqu'à plusieurs mois.”
PIIA heritage sectors requiring CCU evaluation: Vieux-Aylmer, Vieux-Hull (Promenade du Portage, rue Eddy, rue Laval), Vieux-Gatineau (rue Notre-Dame), Buckingham (avenue Buckingham), and Masson-Angers.
Bill 96 compliance is a separate requirement under provincial law — a sign can have the certificat d'autorisation and still be non-compliant with the Charter of the French Language. We design to both standards simultaneously.
Permit Office
Ville de Gatineau — Service de l'urbanisme et du développement durable (SUDD)
Applications: gatineau.ca — Installation d'une enseigne
Signage Projects in Gatineau & the Outaouais
Bilingual signage installed by Lundon Calling in Gatineau and the Outaouais region.
Gatineau & Outaouais Service Area
Signage compliant with Bill 96 — from day one.
Des enseignes conformes à la Loi 96 — dès le départ.
Get a Gatineau Signage Quote
Obtenez une soumission pour vos enseignes à Gatineau
Tell us about your project, your Gatineau address, and any PIIA or Bill 96 requirements. We will respond within one business day.