A group of grocery workers and suppliers who bought a shared Quebec 49 ticket are splitting a $2-million top prize, with one Laurentides delivery driver weighing a return to semi-retirement plans.
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A shared Quebec 49 lottery ticket won a top prize worth $2 million, and the winners—made up of grocery employees and suppliers who regularly work together—plan to use the money for travel, home upgrades and debt relief.
The winner featured in the report is Mario Lafleur, who lives in Laurentides, Que., and has worked for 24 years as a soft-drink delivery driver. Lafleur has been delivering drinks to the Alimentation Brébeuf grocery store, making the prize tied to a workplace relationship rather than a lone purchase.
The lottery play was organized as a group with seven other participants: four grocery employees and three other suppliers. Lafleur’s ticket was therefore part of a pooled effort, and the group leader, Stefano Crisafi, contacted members to inform them they had won.
Lafleur said he initially did not believe the call, citing Crisafi’s reputation within the group for jokes. His skepticism was rooted in the fact that Crisafi’s credibility had previously suffered from humour that others had learned to treat as unreliable.
According to the report, Crisafi checked the ticket while he was at the Alimentation Brébeuf grocery store and realized the group had landed the Quebec 49 top prize. He then tried to share the news, only to be met with disbelief and requests for confirmation from family members before the group accepted the result.
One grocery staff member, assistant manager Marie-Reine Perreault, was camping when she was called. The report says she asked not to be disturbed for what she believed could be another prank, a reaction that was later overturned once the win was confirmed.
After some persuasion, the group ultimately came to believe the announcement and celebrated the win. They accepted their cheque on site in front of the grocery store, marking a workplace moment that turned into a shared financial milestone.
Because the prize was split among eight winners, each recipient will receive $250,000, according to the report. The group’s varying priorities reflect a mix of immediate plans and longer-term security: Crisafi and his partner Maryse Lamontagne plan to explore Italy, while delivery driver Daniel Elio wants to visit his in-laws in France.
Other winners reported using funds for housing and retirement goals. Cheese distributor Martin Vendette said he intends to put money toward building a house, while cashier Ginette Charette wants to move to a bigger home. Ghislain Lacasse, who has delivered bread in the Mont-Tremblant area for 34 years, is nearing retirement and plans to use the money to pay off his cottage.
For Lafleur, the prize has him considering semi-retirement plans again after he had previously put those ideas on hold. In practical terms, the added financial security could shift the balance between work and rest for a delivery driver whose job has spanned more than two decades.
The report also notes that the Alimentation Brébeuf grocery store, which sold the winning ticket, will receive a one per cent commission of $20,000. Taken together, the account highlights how Quebec 49 play can involve coordinated purchases among co-workers and suppliers, and how lottery winnings can quickly translate into personal planning across travel, housing and the timing of retirement.
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