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.

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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 is 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.

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 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.

Lebeau said there were stepped-up measures in place after the incident became public, 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.

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

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

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press