McDonald’s drone drop at Quebec maximum-security prison highlights contraband risks

OTTAWA — It was after dark last Wednesday when a drone dropped silently from the sky over the special handling unit of a maximum-security prison in Quebec.

Slipping into the gap between the chain-link fencing and the window — which was broken from the inside — it delivered its contraband contents to the man waiting within: a McDonald’s meal and a bottle of alcohol.

Prison guards making the rounds in the morning found the intoxicated inmate along with the remains of his late-night snack.

Frédérick Lebeau, national president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, said the fact that this happened in this particular high-security unit should serve as a warning.

“It’s kind of a funny thing, the McNugget trio … but it could be worse. It could be firearm, it can be a ceramic knife,” he said.

“We are seeing an increase of violence in every institution in this country.”

Lebeau said security cameras on the outside of the Regional Reception Centre at Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Que., failed to capture the drone drop. Counter-drone technology also did not pick up the intrusion.

Drone deliveries of contraband are an ongoing problem at prisons across the country.

The Office of the Correctional Investigator’s annual report in 2024 said there are different counter-drone systems in use, including detector dogs.

There were 90 drone incidents at corrections facilities reported in the first six months of that year, and the report found 98 per cent of them were detected. It also noted that the perceived risk of a drone drop at facilities with large outdoor yards led the correctional service to limit inmates’ outdoor time or to provide access only to fenced-in “mini-yards” that were much smaller than the caged spaces provided for the dogs at those facilities.

Correctional Service Canada uses measures like radio frequency detection to alert staff when a drone is in the area. Lebeau said that technology is not sophisticated enough to catch the newer drones.

A pilot project announced in March 2025 uses technology capable of blocking cellphone and drone signals at prisons. Lebeau said the Regional Reception Centre is part of that pilot program — and still, this drone made it through.

“There’s a huge gap in our correctional facilities in Canada and we need to address it sooner than later because one day we will have a major incident,” he said.

A spokesperson for Correctional Service Canada said incidents like this “underscore the need for ongoing investment in technologies and infrastructure.”

Kevin Antonucci said in an email that the correctional service is implementing “physical mitigation measures” such as nets at the Regional Reception Centre.

“These measures are designed to disrupt and prevent the delivery of contraband, such as drugs, weapons, and other prohibited items that can threaten the safety of staff, inmates, and the public,” he wrote.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree called the incident unacceptable.

“Minister Anandasangaree has spoken with the CSC commissioner about this incident,” Simon Lafortune wrote in an email.

“CSC is responsible for security at federal correctional institutions, and the minister expects CSC to identify what went wrong and take the necessary corrective action.”

Lebeau said stepped-up measures were put in place after the incident was reported by Quebec media last week, but extra outdoor patrols at the facility were ended on Monday.

He said the federal government needs to spend a lot more money to prevent this kind of thing from happening. He pointed out that Correctional Service Canada is facing the same budget cuts as every other department.

“We need to take it seriously,” he said.

Conservative public safety critic Frank Caputo agreed, noting the budget cuts at Correctional Service Canada have hit things like perimeter security and dog handlers.

Caputo said he’s outraged that the government isn’t taking the “huge issue” of drone incursions more seriously, despite the known involvement of organized crime groups.

“It is a matter of time before a firearm gets into a federal penitentiary,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2026.

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press