A winning $50-million Lotto Max ticket has made 14 residents of Quebec’s Basse–Côte-Nord instant millionaires.

The ticket, part of a Formule groupe purchased at St-Paul’s River General Store in Bonne-Espérance, was announced on Sept. 6. Each winner will receive just over $3.5 million.

Bonne-Espérance, a remote community accessible only by plane or boat, erupted in celebration after the news spread.

One group member discovered the jackpot while checking results over morning coffee, and word quickly circulated thanks to a handwritten notebook used by store staff to track players. Within hours, locals gathered at the general store for an impromptu party filled with tears, laughter and shouts of joy.

On Sept. 18, the winners, their families and community members held a larger celebration a

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