COVID-19 pandemic in Montreal
The COVID-19 pandemic in Montreal is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. As of July 31, Montreal is the worst affected region in Canada, with 28,443 cases and 3,441 deaths, representing over 60% of deaths in Quebec and over 40% in Canada. The death rate for COVID-19 was four times higher in the urban area of Montreal than in Toronto. At the end of May, the city's death rate was also higher than most American cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles. In the two last weeks of April, the Montreal region saw 1,000 weekly deaths from all causes, representing an increase of 196% over the average for previous years. Only Madrid, London and Brussels experienced a larger increase. Montreal is Canada's second most populous city and the eighth most populous city in North America.
Timeline of distancing measures
March
On March 10, the City of Montreal declared that it was in "Alert" mode. According to the mayor, these were only internal measures to ensure the resilience of the services offered to the public.On March 12, Loto-Québec closed the Montreal Casino.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante announced the closure of public facilities effective March 13, such as 34 public arenas, 45 public libraries, sports facilities, and swimming pools, as well as the Montreal Botanical Garden and Planétarium de Montréal.
On Friday March 13, the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, announced the closure of schools, CEGEPs and universities until March 30, 2020. On March 22, Quebec extended the school closing period until May 1.
On March 13, the STM improved its maintenance procedures for subway cars and buses. Moving from cleaning every six weeks, the cars are supposed to be washed daily. As of March 17, passengers on STM buses were now required to enter through the back door to protect drivers.
As of March 16, the Montreal Public Health Department dispatched dozens of its employees to Montreal's Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau Airport to ask travellers arriving in the metropolis to isolate themselves for 14 days.
On March 16, the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal and the Montreal Council on International Relations suspended all their activities until further notice.
Since March 17, the 31 SPVM neighbourhood stations are temporarily closed to the public for an indefinite period of time. On March 23, the SPVM declared a state of emergency throughout its territory for an indefinite period of time, in order to optimize COVID-19-related interventions. Under the 2015-2021 collective agreement, all overtime hours are remunerated as if they had been worked in normal times. As of April 9, the SPVM would have carried out approximately 4,000 interventions with the population in order to enforce the decree prohibiting indoor gatherings and requiring that a 2-meter distance be maintained during outdoor gatherings. At the same time, 65 police officers on bikes will be walking through the parks to remind them of the instructions. A specialized mixed team of 30 police officers was put in place, in addition to the 125 police officers assigned to the parks.
From March 20, the majority of trials at the Municipal Court of Montreal were postponed to a later date. From March 31, the Municipal Court of Montreal was closed.
As for the Montreal courthouse, since March 20, only urgent cases are being heard.
On March 22, shopping centres were ordered to close their doors until further notice. All nine shopping centres in the greater Montreal metropolitan area, including the Montreal Eaton Centre, which receives an average of 22.3 million visitors per year, were ordered closed.
On March 23, the City set up a COVID-19 testing clinic in Downtown Montreal.
On March 24, Montreal regional public health department said it had identified 300 cases of community transmissions in the metropolitan area on March 23. The same day, La Presse learned that a homeless person had tested positive for COVID-19.
On March 27, the Montreal mayor declared a state of health emergency for the City of Montreal. On April 18, the state of emergency was extended until April 22, and was subsequently extended until April 26, 2020. On May 14, the city extended the date to July 2, 2020. Finally, the state of emergency was extended until May 26
On March 28, the City of Montreal announced the closure of dog parks and community gardens for an indefinite period.
April
On April 2, Mayor Plante announced that there would be a larger police presence at six major parks to enforce restrictions and physical distancing laws. The same day, the city announced the temporary suspension of the indexing of its parking meters.On April 3, a marquee was erected in front of the Santa-Cabrini hospital in order to respect the rules of social distancing. On April 24, the Jacques Lemaire arena in LaSalle was temporarily converted into a hospital.
From April 5, the Mount Royal Chalet and Beaver Lake pavilion were closed. In addition, cyclists have been banned from cycling on Mount Royal's Olmstead Road.
On April 9, 2020, La Ronde amusement park cancelled the 36th edition of the International des Feux Loto-Québec due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 13, TVA Nouvelles revealed that the City approved the purchase of 800,000 KN-95 masks at a cost of $4.50 per unit, or, approximately, $4.1 million. On April 24, Ottawa announced that one million NK95 masks imported from China do not meet Canadian health standards and could not be distributed to the provinces.
On April 23, the president of the executive committee, Benoit Dorais, presented the city's financial report for 2019. It reports a surplus of 250.9 million. However, according to the different scenarios of the city, the health crisis could cause it to lose between 93 and 281.3 million in revenues. At that time, 85% of deaths related to COVID-19 had occurred in the greater Montreal region. The metropolis also accounts for 76% of the 15,915 confirmed cases.
On April 24, the funeral homes of Greater Montreal confirmed a 46.5% increase in deaths for the period from March 22 to April 22, compared to the same period in 2019.
On April 30, Mayor Plante announced that the 97 community gardens around Montreal could open starting May 4.
May
As Montrealers experienced their second day of +20 °C weather of the year and began crowding into parks, the city announced the closure of the parking lots at La Fontaine Park, Maisonneuve Park, Jarry Park, Frédéric-Back Park, and the Île de la Visitation nature park, effective May 3, 2020.In an interview with the Téléjournal, Mayor Plante said she had already ordered 50,000 masks for the population. In addition, the STM announced that 6 of their buses would be transformed into mobile clinics
As of May 5, patients with COVID-19 in the Greater Montreal Region were transferred to hospitals in the regions in order to relieve some pressure on the Montreal health network. The same day, the STM announced that it would start installing plexiglass panels to protect the drivers.
On May 6, Mayor Plante announced on the radio that the river shuttle between Longueuil and the Old Port would be cancelled for the summer of 2020.
On May 7, the city of Montreal extended its state of emergency until May 11, 2020 and announced a grant of $5 million to help local merchants, cultural enterprises and social economy businesses. A little earlier, the Quebec government had postponed the reopening of shops, schools and daycare services in the greater Montreal region until May 25. In Ottawa, the federal government confirmed that 1,020 soldiers had been deployed to help 20 different establishments, all in the greater Montreal area.
Parking signs on the island of Montreal that normally come into effect on April 1 were delayed until May 10.
During the week of May 10, 267 statements of offense for non-compliance with distancing measures were submitted by the SPVM police, while 199 had been issued the previous week.
On May 15, the SPVM renewed its emergency hours.
As of May 22, 93 City of Montreal officials were infected with COVID-19.
Montreal had its first heat wave of the year at the end of May, with temperatures regularly exceeding 30 °C. On May 27, the second highest temperature in Montreal's entire history was recorded, at 36.6 °C. The next day, the City urgently opened various municipal buildings to allow people to cool off. The Government of Quebec also authorized the purchase and installation of air conditioners in CHSLDs in Montreal, as only a third of rooms had air conditioning as of May 24.
On May 30, again, the state of emergency was renewed until June 4.
June
On June 4, the City of Montreal extended the state of emergency until June 9; on June 9, the state of emergency was extended until June 14; on June 14, it was extended until June 19; on June 19, it was extended until June 23; on June 23, it was extended until June 28.The Government of Quebec announced on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day that it would stop publishing the number of cases and deaths related to COVID-19 daily and instead do so on a weekly basis. Two days later, following criticism from the public, the new Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, announced via his Twitter account that daily reporting would start again on June 29.
On June 26, a survey presented by the Canadian Medical Association and carried out by L'Observateur revealed that only 42% of Quebecers said that they regularly wear a mask in public. The weekly survey by Léger produced similar results, finding that approximately 55% of Quebecers wear a mask at the grocery store, while only 18% wear a mask on public transit.
July
On July 1, the City of Montreal extended the state of emergency for five more days.On July 6, Mayor Valérie Plante announced that masks would become mandatory in all closed public places in Montreal at the end of July.
From July 10 onwards, bars in Quebec can no longer serve alcohol after midnight and customers must leave the establishment by 1 a.m.
On July 12, Montrealers who had frequented a bar in the metropolitan area were implored to get tested for COVID-19. Since July 1, at least eight customers or employees of 5 bars have already tested positive for COVID-19. On July 14, there were at least thirty cases from nine different bars that had been detected in Montreal since July 11. Although public health has not released the names of these bars, some employees or customers have posted them on their social media. This is the case with , in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue; and in Rosemont and in Old Montreal.
On July 17, the Regional Directorate of Public Health announced that three new COVID-19 walk-in screening clinics were open.
On July 25, a hundred people demonstrated at the foot of the George-Étienne Cartier monument on Mount Royal against the obligation to wear a mask.
Towards the end of July, some Montrealers who had been tested for COVID-19 had to wait more than five days to get their result.
Timeline of the deconfinement
April
On April 10, during his daily press briefing, François Legault floated the possibility of a return to school before May 4.On April 13, the province's economic reopening plan was unveiled by Quebec:
| Economic sector | Complete resumption of activities | Greater Montreal |
| Garage and landscaping | April 15 | April 15 |
| Residential construction | April 20 | April 20 |
| Retail trade: Shops with external entrance | May 4 | May 11 |
| Construction other than residential | May 11 | May 11 |
| Manufacturing sector | May 11 | May 11 |
| Manufacturing sector | May 25 | May 25 |
On April 20, the lack of unanimity among CAQ MNAs and among the general population forced the government to postpone the initial date of May 4 for a return to class. A week later, Education Minister Jean-François Roberge announced that elementary students would return to class from May 11, 2020.
May
On May 4, Premier Legault announced the postponement by one week of the reopening of non-essential stores in the greater Montreal area. Originally scheduled for May 11, the owners of these businesses would have to wait until Tuesday, May 19, the day after the Fête des Patriotes.On May 7, the reopening of schools in Montreal was postponed to May 25, 2020.
In their second report on the evolution of the pandemic in Quebec, epidemiologists predicted that the current deconfinement plan for the Greater Montreal region could result in 150 deaths per day by July 2020.
On May 8, the STM unveiled its deconfinement plan for public transit. According to the STM, a maximum of 150 people per metro train and 15 people per bus would respect the rules of social distancing. To do this, the transport company would need 8,000 buses and 800 metro trains. The STM currently has 1,425 buses and 97 metro trains.
On May 14, during his first press conference in Montreal, Premier François Legault announced that Montreal schools would not reopen until September 2020. He also strongly recommended that users of public transport wear masks. Benoit Dorais, president of the executive committee of the City of Montreal, announced that "face covers" were going to be distributed from May 18 in the Montreal metro.
On May 15, Premier Legault announced that the Quebec government would donate 1 million masks to Montreal, in addition to financial assistance of $6 million to various public transit organizations in the Greater Montreal region.
On May 17, more than 60 Montrealers travelled to Quebec City to protest the confinement in front of the National Assembly of Quebec.
At the May 18 press conference, Premier Legault maintained the reopening date of May 25 for non-essential businesses that have an outdoor entrance.
On May 20, the mayor of Montreal affirmed that Montreal was ready for deconfinement of its businesses
On May 20, the Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Solidarity, Jean Boulet, allowed dentists, massage therapists, optometrists and many others to resume their activities in the Greater Montreal region starting on June 1, 2020. However, hairdressing and beauty salons, as well as gymnasiums and training rooms, would remain closed until further notice.
In a press release dated May 21, the City of Montreal announced:
| Installations | Announced reopening date | Actual reopening date |
| 97 community gardens | May 18 | May 24 |
| Skateparks, pétanque areas and athletics tracks | May 21 | May 21 |
| Municipal golf of Montreal | May 21 | May 22 |
| Access to Île Notre-Dame, Gilles-Villeneuve circuit and parc Jean-Drapeau | May 21 | May 23 |
| 102 tennis courts on its territory | May 21 | Early June |
| Parking lots in La Fontaine, Maisonneuve, Jarry, Frédéric-Back parks, Ile-de-La-Visitation and Ile Notre Dame nature parks - children's play areas - sports facilities for team sports | May 21 | No scheduled date |
| Museum institutions, cultural product loan counters and drive-ins | May 22 | May 29 |
| Hair salons, beauty centres, manicure and pedicure, hair removal, tattoo and piercing services | May 29 | June 15 |
| Outdoor public spaces | May 30 | May 30 |
On May 22, François Legault, Marc Bergevin and Jonathan Drouin participated in the distribution of masks at the Cadillac metro station. In addition, from May 22, a government decree restricted outdoor gatherings in private locations to a maximum of 10 people, but loosened the requirement to maintain a two-meter distance between the people gathered for it to apply "as much as possible" rather than at all times. It was recommended, but not required, that those ten people be from no more than three households.
Starting on May 24, businesses that had been closed every Sunday, by government mandate, were able to resume activities on Sundays.
The City of Montreal deployed around sixty inspectors to enforce physical distancing measures in non-essential businesses in the Greater Montreal region when they reopened on Monday, May 25. Despite the reopening, Mayor Plante maintained her decision to not make wearing a mask mandatory in public areas, including in the metro. However, several commercial arteries were very quiet on that day.
Three weeks after their second report, the INSPQ published their third report. While the second raised the possibility of more than 10,000 new cases per day by June if Montreal's deconfinement plans were to go ahead, the May 28 report forecasted 1,000 to 1,500 new cases per day by June in the Greater Montreal region, assuming public support for distancing measures.
June
Between May 31 and June 7, 68 tickets were given out by the SPVM for outdoor or indoor gatherings that contravened sanitary rules.On June 4, the Journal de Montréal learned that the Legault government planned to deconfine restaurants outside of Greater Montreal starting on June 15.
On June 5, after having received several complaints, the Ombudsman de Montréal launched an investigation into the hastily implemented health corridors by the City of Montreal.
On June 5 the metropolis recorded a little more than 100 new cases. The next day, they had just under 100 new cases. This downward trend continued and on June 7, only 5 deaths and 83 new cases were confirmed, the smallest increase since early April.
On June 8, the government announced that restaurants in Greater Montreal can open on June 22. The same day, Quebec's national public health director, Horacio Arruda, said that the situation in Montreal was "under control." However, a publicist from the amusement chain Six Flags, owner of La Ronde since 2001, confirmed to the 24 Heures newspaper that the Quebec government had not yet authorized La Ronde to open its doors.
On June 10, the City of Montreal announced the reopening of the Montreal Botanical Garden on June 15. No reopening date was announced for other large parks in the city, whose parking lots had been closed since May 3.
On June 12, the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon, announced the reopening of shopping centres in Montreal on June 19.
On June 13, sixty Dollarama employees demonstrated in Montreal to demand better health and safety measures to fight COVID-19.
On June 15, Montreal barbershops and hair salons were able to reopen. That same day, the Montreal Botanical Garden reopened and the government of Quebec pledged $500,000 to help raise awareness of COVID-19 in Montreal through interventions like the distribution of masks, for example.
On June 16, it was announced that June 19 would be the last day of operation for the 5 mobile testing centres in Montreal, which had been operational since mid-May 2020.
On June 17, Doctor Horacio Arruda announced that places of worship could hold indoor gatherings of up to 50 people from June 22 onwards.
On June 18, the parking lots of major Montreal parks were permitted to reopen.
On June 19, shopping centres in the Montreal metropolitan area reopened. Additionally, the government of Quebec authorized family visits to RPAs that do not have a COVID-19 outbreak, starting on June 26. The day before, a similar measure had been announced for CHSLDs.
When Montreal was hit by a second heat wave between June 17 and 24, the director of public health, Dr. Mylène Drouin, affirmed that they had followed through with their plan to install air-conditioners in CHSLDs. As of June 20, only the following 18 pools in Montreal were accessible to the public:
| Borough | Outdoor pools |
| Ahuntsic-Cartierville | Gabriel-Lalemant and Marcelin-Wilson aquatic complexes |
| Anjou | Swimming pools in Chénier, Roger-Rousseau and Lucie-Bruneau parks |
| Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve | Paul-Émile-Sauvageau pool |
| Lachine | LaSalle park pool |
| Sud-Ouest | Sir-Georges-Étienne Cartier and Ignace-Bourget swimming pools |
| Plateau-Mont-Royal | Baldwin Park Pool |
| Montréal-Nord | Saint-Laurent park pool |
| Rivières-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles | Don-Bosco park pool |
| Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie | Pélican park pool |
| Saint-Léonard | PIE-XII park pool |
| Verdun | Arthur-Therrien and La Fontaine pools |
| Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension | Jarry park pool and François-Perrault pool |
| Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce | No swimming pool open before June 22 |
| LaSalle | Riverside pool will open on June 23, and two more are expected to follow on June 25 |
| Ville-Marie | Unknown |
| Outremont | Unknown |
| Saint-Laurent | Unknown |
| Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève | Unknown |
| Pierrefonds-Roxboro | Valley Crest pool will not open this summer |
On June 21, the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau announced that Jean-Doré Beach would open the second week of July, while the Aquatic Complex's large recreational pool would open the third week of July.
The following establishments reopened on June 22:
- Restaurants in the Greater Montréal area ;
- Gyms, indoor pools, and arenas
- Public and private beaches;
- Houses of worship ;
- Cinema, theatres, concert halls and other indoor venues ;
- Day camps;
- Libraries
On June 29, Saint Joseph's Oratory reopened its doors to the public.
July
On July 13, La Ronde announced the reopening with limited capacity and new health and safety measures from July 25.In his press conference on July 17, Prime Minister Legault decreed that the problem of the spread of the virus was not linked to bars, but rather to private parties.
On July 23, the government of Quebec announced a relaxation of public health rules related to public gatherings. Indeed, the number of people who can attend indoor and outdoor gatherings in a public place will increase from 50 to 250 people from August 3, 2020. People should sit at least 1.5 meters from each other, unless they are part of the same household, before removing their face coverings. They will have to put it back before moving.
Timeline of the second wave
May
As of May 19, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital was preparing for a second wave.On May 29, Quebec's public health institute did not rule out the possibility that a second wave of COVID-19 would occur in the summer if physical distancing measures were poorly applied.
June
In early June, the Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services, Dominique Savoie, was mandated to make a good diagnosis of what did not work in Montreal and "see to it that it is improved for the second wave ".Le Devoir reported on June 2 that Montreal had 150 investigators doing contract-tracing, and that 18,000 investigations had been conducted, a number deemed clearly insufficient in the event of a second wave.
In the presented by Léger on June 8, 2020, 72% of Quebec respondents were of the opinion that there would be a second wave.
On June 11, Horacio Arruda ruled out the possibility of a total lockdown in the event of a second wave.
As of June 16, there were 35 workplace-related outbreaks. There have been no outbreaks in daycares since June 1. In addition, between June 6 and June 16, fewer than 100 cases were recorded per day in Montreal.
On June 17, the learned that modular units were going to be installed at the end of the summer in the parking lot of the Sacré-Coeur hospital in order to accommodate a hundred patients in the event of a second wave of COVID-19.
On June 22, for the first time since March 22, no new deaths were recorded in Quebec.
August
In order to deal with a possible second wave, Groupe Medicom, a company established on the island of Montreal, will be supplying N95 masks from August 2020.Boroughs
Ahuntsic-Cartierville
On March 25, TVA Nouvelles learned that 5 people in the had tested positive for COVID-19.On April 1, there were 70 cases of COVID-19 in Ahuntsic-Cartierville health establishments, in addition to the 29 cases and 7 deaths from the Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci CHSLD. 10 cases were also reported in the Laurendeau CHSLD, 31 at Sacré Coeur hospital and one at Fleury hospital.
On April 5, 15 people died in two CHSLDs in the neighbourhood. In addition, 99 residents and 94 staff members had been infected by that date.
On April 14, 6% of cases in the metropolitan area were in Ahuntsic-Cartierville.
On April 15, the Laurendeau CHSLD reported 142 positive cases and 21 deaths, representing an increase of 81 cases over three days.
| Marie-Clarac Hospital | CHSLD Paul-Lizotte | CHSLD Paul-Gouin | CHSLD Auclair | CHSLD - Cartierville | CHSLD Laurendeau | CHSLD Légaré | CHSLD Notre-dame-de-la-Merci | |
| April 15 | 25 | 11 | 4 | N.A. | N.A. | 142 | 14 | 82 |
| April 30 | 65 | 42 | 21 | 20 | 15 | 182 | 20 | 88 |
On April 28, the MP of Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Mélanie Joly, declared that she would donate a portion of her annual salary increase to two food banks in the area.
On May 15, the director of Ahuntsic College estimated that the only way school could return in the fall would be through distance education.
On May 19, CCM Hockey donated 100,000 surgical masks to the Nord-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal CIUSSS.
| Facility | Closing date | Deconfinement date |
| Community gardens | N.A | May 18 |
| Dog parks | March 28 | May 22 |
| Water parks in Sault-au-Récollet, Saint-Benoît, Saint-Simon-Apôtre, Saint-André-Apôtre, De Mésy, Saint-Alphonse, Saint-Paul-de-la-Croix and Ahuntsic parks | N.A. | May 29 |
| Water parks in Raimbault park | N.A. | June 3 |
| Water parks in Marcelin-Wilson park | N.A. | Unknown |
Between mid-May and June 11, 49 residents in the Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci CHSLD died, bringing the total since the start of the crisis to 90. At the time, this was the largest number number of deaths in a CHSLD.
On June 12, the management of announced that the seventh edition scheduled for August 2020 would be postponed to 2021.
Restroom facilities in the borough's public parks gradually began reopening on June 26.
Anjou">Anjou, Quebec">Anjou
On March 13, at the request of the City of Montreal, the local soccer club, FC Anjou, suspended its season until further notice.Starting on March 19, municipal council meetings were held behind closed doors to limit the spread of COVID-19. Among the 19 boroughs of Montreal, Anjou is the only one that did not broadcast its session online or take questions from the public.
The borough of Anjou may be particularly at risk due to its demographics:
- 9,995 of Angevins are aged over 65 and over;
- 5,240 are aged 75 and over;
- 7,100 live alone;
- 33% of families have single parents;
- The average total pre-tax income of residents aged 15 and over is lower than the Montreal average;
- Immigrants and non-permanent residents account for 33% and 10% of the resident population, respectively.
On April 5, the Costco spokesperson in Anjou announced that three employees had tested positive for COVID-19.
As of May 5, only a dozen shops were open at Les Halles d'Anjou Market. Normally, a little more than 40 merchants are present daily.
On May 8, a frozen food delivery service became available, free of charge, for residents of Anjou who were affected during the crisis.
Baie-d'Urfé
On March 21, the town of Baie-D'Urfé created a special committee to deal with COVID-19. The day before, parks and playgrounds were closed.Since the beginning of April, volunteers have been handing out masks at grocery stores.
Eight employees of the Première Moisson plant located in Baie-d'Urfé tested positive for COVID-19.
[Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce]
The Jewish General Hospital of Montreal, one of the four centres initially designated by the Quebec government to care for COVID-19 patients, treated two of the 17 Quebecers that had tested positive for COVID-19 as of March 13, 2020.On March 14, in a press release, Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre indicated that a child who had returned from a trip to Europe had tested positive for COVID-19. It was the first case of coronavirus found in Quebec in a minor. Five days later, an employee tested positive.
On March 16, a student at Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf tested positive.
On March 30 the Montreal Regional Department of Public Health published the number of confirmed cases by borough. Out of 1,612 confirmed cases in Montreal, 161 came from the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough.
On April 7, the Centre d’hébergement Alfred-Desrochers was severely affected by the virus. Nine elders died from COVID-19, while 39 other residents also received a positive diagnosis. The same day, Marguerite Lescop died from COVID-19 at the age of 104, in the CHSLD Alfred-Desrochers in Montreal, where she had lived for several years and where several other residents also succumbed to the disease.
On April 8, the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery in Montréal, the largest in Canada, stopped performing burials and cremations.
From April 23, a truck broadcasting public service announcements in French, English, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Yiddish, Spanish, Creole, Arabic, Russian, Mandarin, Tamil, Hindi, Wolof, Farsi and Urdu circulated in the streets of the district.
On April 27, out of 12,034 Montrealers who had tested positive for COVID-19, 1,097 were from the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough.
On May 12, a group of residents asked the City of Montreal to provide more resources, such as mobile screening clinics and masks.
[Côte Saint-Luc]
On March 20, public health authorities revealed that individuals who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 had been in several public places in Montreal over the past week, including the metro between the stations Angrignon and McGill, the 106 bus from Newman Boulevard towards Angrignon station, the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce library, the 24 bus headed west on Sherbrooke Street between Notre-Dame Hospital and the Fine Arts Museum, and the Aunja Restaurant. These individuals were among the four residents of Côte Saint-Luc who were declared positive for COVID-19, according to the city's mayor, Mitchell Brownstein. He added that this made Côte Saint-Luc the worst affected municipality per capita in Quebec. On that same date, the emergency chief of the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital received a positive diagnosis of COVID-19.A drive-thru testing clinic was set up in Côte Saint-Luc on March 29. There were more than 50 cases in the area at the time, and by the end of the month, Côte St-Luc had the highest COVID-19 rate in the province, with 107 positive cases.
On April 2, the IGA in Quartier Cavendish announced the closure of its establishment to the public due to the pandemic. Two days later, an employee tested positive for the virus.
The drive-thru testing centre closed on April 16, as a new centre had opened up at the Jewish General Hospital.
Effective July 1, masks became mandatory in public areas in Côte St. Luc, making the municipality the first jurisdiction in Canada to make masks mandatory.
[Dollard-des-Ormeaux]
The celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the city of Dollard-des-Ormeaux were suspended due to the pandemic.From April 22 to May 8, 40 residents of CHLSD Vigi Dollard-des-Ormeaux died due to COVID-19 and the lack of staff. A doctor said that 70% of the 160 residents were positive for COVID-19.
[Dorval]
The province confirmed its first case on February 28—a 41-year-old woman from Montréal–Trudeau International Airport who had returned from Iran on the 24th, on a flight from Doha, Qatar. She was transferred to Jewish General Hospital on March 3 and released on March 4. A few days later, the Journal de Montréal revealed that a person suffering from COVID-19 had used the shuttle service offered by Montréal-Trudeau airport to the parking lots when it was contagious.From March 13, the city of Dorval announced the closure of certain municipal buildings until further notice.
On March 29, the Residence Herron in Dorval was placed under guardianship. On April 11, it was stated that at least five residents of CHSLD Herron in Montreal suburb Dorval had died from COVID-19 in the last month, as part of a larger pattern of neglect discovered at the facility.
The billionaire Michael Rosenberg is said to be in intensive care, intubated and under sedation. The latter had participated in a wedding on March 16 at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Montreal.
On May 25, the City of Dorval decided to cancel all of its major events until at least July 1. National Day, Canada Day and Baby Boomer's Brand summer concert were canceled.
Hampstead
At the start of the crisis, the mayor of the City of Hampstead, William Steinberg played down COVID-19. However, the April 6 municipal council meeting was held online. At that moment the median rate for Montreal was 36 cases for every 100,000 people. However, in some neighbourhoods like Hampstead the number is more like 150 to 200 per 100,000. This explains why certain additional measures were taken.From May 22, the tennis courts were opened. The next day was the dog parks. But day camps for summer 2020 were canceled.
Kirkland
On March 30, Kirkland closed its parks and park chalets. The city has also set up a telephone line for seniors for real time updates and available resources from the city to help. The Ecclestone swimming pool was also closed for the summer season 2020.Lachine
On March 24, the borough of Lachine confirmed that it was offering a contribution of $25,000 to the emergency fund launched by Centraide. This fund made it possible to immediately implement measures targeting the isolated population in the context of a pandemic.At the beginning of April, a first screening clinic was opened at the Cité medical de Lachine clinic.
On April 6, a Lachine dépanneur was the target of criticism after citizens learned that the delivery man's wife was suffering from COVID-19.
On April 21, the first case of COVID-19 was detected at the mother house of the Sisters of Sainte-Anne. One month later, it was the most affected private seniors' residence in the province
From May 3 to 5, the number of COVID-19 positive cases to double in Lachine.
On May 15, the borough canceled garage sales until further notice.
Lifeguard initiation party on July 18 forced city officials to temporarily close public pool due to COVID-19 outbreak.
LaSalle
On March 10, a STM public transport user took the bus on line 106 from Boulevard Newman towards Angrignon station. Then, from March 27, Parc des Rapides in LaSalle was closed due to COVID-19.On April 7, with 237 positive cases, LaSalle borough was just behind that of Côte-des-Neiges, which had more than 400 cases. Of these, 23 had died. 14 of them stayed at the LaSalle Accommodation Centre and 9 at the LaSalle Hospital Accommodation Centre. Also, at least 29 patients had caught the virus in the CHSLD and 20 others in the hospital.
| Date | Centre d’hébergement LaSalle | Floralies de LaSalle | Unité d’hébergement de l’Hôpital de LaSalle | Les Tours Angrignon |
| April 13 | 77 | 21 | N.A. | 4 |
| April 17 | 99 | 84 | 66 | 5 |
| April 20 | 99 | 92 | 66 | 7 |
| April 21 | 99 | 93 | 66 | 15 |
| April 22 | 109 | 93 | 66 | 15 |
On April 24, the Red Cross set up dozens of beds in the Jacques-Lemaire arena.
Since May 13, a mobile screening clinic has been installed in LaSalle.
On June 4, the soldiers deployed in the CHSLD Floralies gradually began to leave the establishment
[L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève]
Around mid-March, and despite the challenges related to Coronavirus, the city of Montreal teams were closely monitoring the Rivière des Prairies in the L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève borough. These spring floods will never have occurred and at the end of March, while Montreal counted 1,612 cases, only 5 came from the borough.The borough councils of Tuesday May 5 and June 2 were held behind closed doors to limit the spread of coronavirus.
[Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve]
On Friday March 13, the City of Montreal announced the closure of all community centres, cultural places, libraries, swimming pools, arenas and sports facilities in Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. Then, on March 17, it was around the temporary closure of all Access Montreal offices and permit counters. On March 24, Mayor Pierre Lessard-Blais announced that the borough was offering a contribution of $100,000 to the Emergency Fund launched by Centraide.From April 13, the Francis-Bouillon arena was transformed into a rest stop for people experiencing homelessness. Something similar was set up at the Maurice Richard Arena a few days later. Around the same time, several new "pedestrian corridors" were put in place in the borough in order to secure travel. In late April, a mobile screening clinic was deployed in the borough.
As of May 1, 27 soldiers from the Canadian Armed Forces were deployed to the CHSLD Benjamin-Victor-Rousselot.
Between May 2 and May 12, the number of deaths almost doubled in the borough. Starting the next day, 15,000 masks were distributed to MHH residents in nine days.
On May 20, the Débrouillards scientific day camps were canceled.
Montreal-Est
On March 19, the City of Montreal-Est announced the closure of all non-essential services as of March 20. A month later, the partial resumption of residential construction and landscaping took place.On June 2, the city announced the temporary closure of its facilities, after three employees were diagnosed with COVID-19 during the previous week.
[Montréal-Nord]
On March 13, the Mayor of Montréal-Nord, Christine Black, placed herself in voluntary quarantine after returning from her trip during spring break. Three weeks after the COVID-19 crisis started, the Obsession club, a North Montreal nightclub that prided itself on being the biggest swingers club in the world, declared bankruptcy due to COVIDOn April 5, Toronto Raptors player Chris Boucher urged young people to follow Public Health guidelines.
Between March 25 and April 7, four employees tested positive for coronavirus in the Metro chain's meat and frozen distribution centre, located at 11701 Albert-Hudon. Since then, two other cases have been identified at this distribution centre.
On March 30, there were 50 confirmed cases.
On April 7, the first positive case was reported in a CHSLD in the borough which had 149 people tested positive.
On April 9, the borough had 193 cases.
On April 16, there were 443 infected people, an increase of 52% in four days.
On April 22, 40 North Montrealers died from COVID-19, while 839 cases were identified. Of this number, 25 health workers residing in Montreal North are infected.
As of April 29, the borough of Montréal-Nord had 1,153 confirmed cases or 1,369 per 10,0000 inhabitants. The ratio of Quebec was 324.55 per 100,000 inhabitants, that of Canada of 142.78. The newspaper Le Devoir indicated that 23% of all cases, some 253 health workers had contracted the coronavirus, and 206 other cases of contamination were reported in CHSLDs.
As of April 30, 2020, the situation in the living environments for elderly and vulnerable people in the borough:
| Date | Institution | Cumulative number of confirmed residents | Percentage of confirmed residents |
| April 29 | Résidence Angelica Inc. | 162 | Less than 15% of residents are confirmed cases |
| April 29 | Hôpital Marie-Clarac | 66 | Between 15% and 25% are confirmed cases |
| April 28 | Résidence Angelica | 145 | More than 25% are confirmed cases |
| April 26 | CHSLD Champlain-De-Gouin | 30 | More than 25% are confirmed cases |
| April 28 | Château Beaurivage | 29 | Between 15% and 25% are confirmed cases |
| April 28 | Résidence Les Cascades inc. | 2 | Between 15% and 25% are confirmed cases |
| Before April 13 | Résidence Sault-au-Récollet | 1 | Between 15% and 25% are confirmed cases |
| Before April 13 | Résidence Portofino inc | 1 | Between 15% and 25% are confirmed cases |
As of May 1, 2020, a screening centre was opened to the symptomatic population living in Montreal-Nord.
On May 23, Kent Nagano and the Orchester symphonique de Montréal sent a message of support to Montréal-Nord in a video posted online
From May 19 to 25, the number of new infections fell by 26% compared to the previous week for the borough.
On June 17, Stéphane Pierre Corneille, a businessman, donated $250,000 in protective equipment to various organizations in Montréal-Nord.
Mount Royal">Mount Royal, Quebec">Mount Royal
By May 14, the CHSLD Vigi Mont-Royal received help from the Canadian army after 148 employees and 226 seniors contracted the virus due to a ventilation problem.From June 21, a drive-in cinema was opened on the land of the Royalmount real estate project.
Outremont
On March 18, The New York Times reported that the virus was indeed present in the Hasidim of Williamsburg and Borough Park, communities woven closely with those in Outremont, Côte-des-Neiges and Boisbriand. Ten days later, no less than 38% of the 971 Montrealers reached by COVID-19 resided in Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Outremont, Parc-Extension and the cities of Hampstead and Côte-Saint -Luc. The Outremont district was the district with the highest infection rate per 100,000 inhabitants until April 16On March 25, COVID-19 made its first victim in Montreal. A 67-year-old man who lived in the Outremont district. The next day, the SPVM police found eight pallets containing hundreds of cases of wine from Ontario behind the Satmar synagogue, located on Hutchison Street in the Outremont borough. A few days later, the SPVM intervened in order to limit gatherings within the various Hasidic groups in Montreal. On May 13, the SPVM intervened again with the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community of Montreal.
[Pierrefonds-Roxboro]
In addition to having to deal with the pandemic, the Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough closely monitored the level of the Rivière des Prairies.On April 6, an emergency fund of $35,000 was created by the borough.
On May 8, the borough canceled its annual ecological gardening day scheduled for May 29, 2020.
As of May 22, the Cloverdale neighborhood of Pierrefonds-Roxboro was considered a COVID-19 hot spot by public health authorities.
On June 2, the borough expected a loss of local revenues estimated at $500,000 for the year 2020 and a reduction target of 3.1% of its budget, which is equivalent to $1M.
[Le Plateau-Mont-Royal]
On March 24, the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, together with the Caisse Desjardins du Plateau-Mont-Royal, created a local emergency fund COVID-19 of to support neighborhood community organizations. Deputy Ruba Ghazal subsequently made a personal donation of $50,000 to the fund. The City of Montreal, for its part, allocated $1.2 million for an emergency fund to provide food aid to the most vulnerable citizens.[Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles]
From May 7, 10,000 masks were distributed in the borough.As of May 15, a permanent testing centre was set up at the CLSC de l'Est de Montréal in Pointe-aux-Trembles. The borough was then considered a hot zone in Quebec
On May 22, as Montreal was preparing for deconfinement, RDP-PAT deployed a new series of measures to counter the spread of the coronavirus
[Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie]
From March 13, 2020, patients at Maisonneuve-Rosement and Santa-Cabrini hospitals could not receive a visit. A week later, a member of the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital care teams had COVID-19, the fourth case of infection in a hospital setting. On March 20, the EPIC Centre, one of the largest cardiovascular prevention centre in Canada with more than 5,303 registered members, suspended its activities until further notice. The next day, Lenni-Kim indicated on his Instragram account that he and his mother had positive tests at Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont. On March 26, the Angus Medical Clinic was mandated to open a designated COVID-19 evaluation clinic. The new clinic offers medical consultations to people with a diagnosis and requiring medical follow-up.On April 2, with 133 cases, Rosemont was then the third district most affected by the virus. On April 6, the borough councilor indicated in the agenda, wanting to grant financial support of $100,000 for the year 2020 to Centraide of Greater Montreal. As of April 7, 87 elderly patients and seven deaths related to COVID-19 had been detected in seven CHSLDs, including in the CHSLD J. Henri Charbonneau. As of April 28, four of the five surgical units at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital were infected with COVID-19 patients.
From mid-April, several new "pedestrian corridors" were put in place in the borough in order to secure travel.
From April 30, traffic was prohibited on Marché-Du-Nord streets during Jean-Talon market opening hours. This exceptional measure was part of the plan to secure and bring the Jean-Talon market up to sanitary standards in relation to COVID-19.
As of May 11, the various roadworks in the borough gradually resumed. The same day, a petition circulated online to reopen the Botanical Garden. In addition, the La Mennais emergency childcare service, located in the closed district for two weeks due to an outbreak linked to COVID-19.
As of May 12, 227 health workers had caught COVID in the borough, or 21% of the total in the region.
On May 19, borough mayor François Croteau announced that the section of Saint-Laurent Boulevard, between rue Saint-Zotique and rue Jean-Talon would be converted into a "transit mall". The restaurateurs of Little Italy in Montreal will be allowed to extend their terraces onto the street in order to facilitate social distancing.
On June 5, the organizers of the Montreal's Italian Week festival, which was to take place from August 7 to 6, 2020, would take place virtually.
On June 8, the mayor of the borough, François William Croteau announced the cancellation of the "pedestrianization with bus" projects on the Beaubien and Masson commercial arteries and the upcoming expiration of sanitary corridors
| Installation | Open / Not open |
| Soccer and baseball fields | Open for free practice, keeping a distance of two meters. Matches remain banned |
| Basketball courts | Open for free practice, keeping a distance of two meters. The nets will be installed soon. Matches remain prohibited. |
| Playgrounds | Open. Usual cleaning will be carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the Regional Public Health Department |
| Water sports | All water games are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., except those in the Parc de la Cité-Jardin which will open soon. |
| Libraries | Not open |
| The permit counter | Open, by appointment only |
| Community gardens | Open |
| Skateparks | Open |
| Tennis courts | Open. Only free practice in singles is allowed, double play is prohibited. No lesson or training session is authorized and only the use of outdoor grounds is permitted. |
| Dog parks | Open |
| Municipal golf | Open |
| Swimming pools and arena | Not open |
| Maisonneuve Park parking lot and chalet | Not open |
On June 16, the Beaubien Cinema announced its reopening on July 3.
Saint-Léonard">Saint-Leonard, Quebec">Saint-Léonard
On April 9, Saint-Léonard announced the creation of a COVID-19 Emergency Fund, up to a maximum of $50,000.| Place | Opening |
| Building Permits Office | May 4 |
| Community gardens | May 18 |
| Tennis courts located at Pie-XII, Ferland, Giuseppe-Garibaldi parks, Ladauversière and Wilfrid-Bastien | May 22 |
| Arthur-Péloquin and Jean-Talon dog parks - Provencher | May 22 |
| Reopening of shops | May 25 |
| Water games | May 26 |
| Water games | May 27 |
| Skatepark | May 27 |
From June 1, the Intermarché Lagoria grocery chain imposed the wearing of masks on its customers.
In order to equip the parents, the set up a survival kit in order to equip them so that their children continue their school learning.
Senneville">Senneville, Quebec">Senneville
By April 4, all of the boroughs and municipalities of Montreal had confirmed cases with Senneville getting its first cases.Sud-Ouest
On April 20, 115 of the 165 residents of CHSLD Yvon-Brunet were infected with COVID-19. On June 3, more than four out of five deaths were in seniors' residences in the Sud-Ouest borough.On May 13, 14 and 15, a mobile screening clinic visited the borough.
Verdun">Verdun, Quebec">Verdun
On February 28, the Quebec government confirmed its first case of coronavirus on its territory. It was a 41-year-old Montrealer who returned from Iran. After presenting herself in a Verdun clinic, the lady was transferred to the Verdun Hospital.On March 27, the emergency department of the Verdun Hospital had to close its emergency department due to an outbreak of COVID-19.
On April 2, at least 35 patients and two doctors had contracted COVID-19 at the hospital in Verdun. The next day, while 2,837 cases had been confirmed in the metropolitan area, a total of 204 healthcare workers, including 148 in Montreal, had been diagnosed with COVID-19, including 5 doctors from the Verdun Hospital.
On April 7, 2020, the actor Ghyslain Tremblay died following an infection with COVID-19 disease at home L'Étincelle, a nursing home in Verdun, at the age of 68 years.
On April 14, the Verdun hospital built a temporary annex without its parking lot to accommodate 36 additional hospital beds. Work was to be completed by the end of April.
On April 17, the Verdun hospital faced a second COVID-19 outbreak. The first occurred at the beginning of April.
On May 8, the borough of Verdun launched a pilotte project aimed at closing, in part, to car traffic on Wellington Street.
| Installation | Open / Not open |
| Libraries | June 22 |
| Community gardens | May 21 |
| Reopening of tennis courts | June 1 |
| Reopening of water games | June 1 |
Ville-Marie
As of March 13, 2020, and until further notice, all of Ville-Marie's community centres, cultural sites, libraries, swimming pools, arena and sports facilities were closed under COVID-19. On March 24, Ville-Marie donated $150,000 to the COVID-19 emergency fund to support the 80 community organizations in the borough. The day before, a first walk-in COVID-19 screening clinic had been set up under large tents pitched on the Place des festivals. At the end of March, Ville-Marie was one of 6 boroughs with more than 50 cases of COVID-19.Between April 12 and June 4, around 50 people a day used the facilities of the Grande Bibliothèque de Montréal to warm up. In fact, the library hall had been converted into a shelter for the homeless during the pandemic
On April 15, the Québec solidaire member for Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques and head of the second opposition group in the Quebec National Assembly, Manon Massé, added $50,000 to the emergency fund, just like the Caisses Desjardins of Complexe Desjardins and Quartier-Latin de Montréal.
In addition, a second employee of a McDonald's restaurant was found positive. While the first worked at the branch located at 12090 rue Sherbrooke Est, the second worked at the restaurant located at 2901 rue Sherbrooke Est.
On May 19, the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal was urgently closed after an outbreak of COVID-19 among staff.
On June 3, the Chambre du commerce du Montréal métropolitain proposed to make the Sainte-Catherine street a corner between Atwater and Papineau. Due to the pandemic, downtown Montreal has emptied of its 100,000 students, its millions of tourists and about 80% of its workers, most of whom are telecommuting.
[Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension]
As of May 1, the accessible screening clinic in Saint-Michel was open from Sunday to Wednesday from noon to 8 p.m. The authorities estimated a daily capacity of a hundred tests. On May 18, a walk-in mobile screening clinic was testing asymptomatic residentsAs of May 6, with 1,239 cases of contamination, Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension, was the second most affected arrondissement. Being one of the poorest neighborhoods in Canada, various community organizations fear an upsurge of cases.
On May 15, the borough announced its Summer 2020 travel plan.
| Installation | Open / Not open |
| Libraries | June 15 |
| Librairies | June 22 |
| Outdoor pools | June 20 |
| Sports fields | May 23 |
| Open as a cool stop | |
| Water sports | May 26 |
| Dog parks | May 23 |
| Community gardens | May 19 |
Westmount
On March 12, a woman with COVID-19 attended a wedding in a synagogue in Westmount. Over a hundred people attended. A week later, access to all of the City of Westmount's playgrounds was prohibited to the public until further notice. Few days after, a firefighter tested positive for COVID-19.On April 6, 2020, the municipal council voted to postpone the date of the second payment of municipal tax accounts. The next day, access to the borough was reserved for local traffic or deliveries. Then, from April 8, Westmount pedestrians were asked not to cross paths on the sidewalks. As of April 15, the resumption of services for landscaping contractors in the city quietly resumed. As of April 21, 21 cases of COVID-19 were detected at St. Margaret' Residence on Hillside Avenue, the only public CHSLD in Westmount.
Starting May 18, the City of Westmount opened its community gardens.
Impact
Criminality
Although Montreal was on pause, domestic violence was not. However, for the period between March 13, 2020, the start of the state of health emergency in Quebec, and May 15, 2020, crimes in Montreal fell by 30% compared to the same period in 2019 and for the month of April, a drastic drop of more than two thirds of reports to the DPJ was observed by the interveners compare to last year.With the suspension of most professional sports leagues, the illegal sports betting network of the Montreal mafia was also undermined. The price of a kilogram of cocaine in Montreal would be around $65,000 per kilogram, compared to $43,000 before the pandemic.
On July 18, the date on which the wearing of a mask in indoor public places was compulsory around Quebec, a man was arrested in a Tim Horton in Montreal. The man refused to wear a mask.
Cultural
On March 12, Montreal cancelled the St. Patrick's Day parades. The Montreal Symphony Orchestra cancelled concerts scheduled through May 24. Various festivals have been cancelled, including Les Francos, Montréal Complètement Cirque, the Montreal International Jazz Festival. Montreal's Just for Laughs comedy festival was postponed to late-September and early-October. The Montreal Fireworks Festival was also cancelled.On March 13, all museums in Canada, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art and the OPTICA contemporary art centre in Montreal were closed indefinitely. The next day, the McCord Museum did the same. Since April 17, the McCord Museum has launched the collaborative photographic project. Having the mission to tell the social history of Montreal, it was decided to document in photos this period of confinement. On May 5, Montreal museums raised the possibility that museums will be open by early summer.
On March 14, the Beaubien cinema, the Parc cinema, the Musée cinema and the Quebec Cinematics, as well as all the state museums and all the libraries in the Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec network closed their doors for a period 30 days in accordance with the request of the Minister of Culture and Communications, Mrs. Nathalie Roy. In addition to these cinemas, the performance halls of the Théâtre de Quat'Sous and the Théâte PAP, the Agora de la danse and the Prospero theater.
As of April 9, several events and shows were cancelled due to COVID-19, including:
| Events | When | Where |
| FRANCOUVERTES 2020 | February 17 - May 4 | Lion d'or and Club Soda |
| Cabane Panache et Bois Rond 2020 | March 19 - March 22 | Wellington Promenade |
| Dr. Mobilo Aquafest 2020 | May 1 - May 16 | Fairmount Theater |
| Distorsion Psych fest 2020 | May 6 - May 9 | St-Infant Jesus Church |
| Festival METRO METRO 2020 | May 15 - May 17 | Esplanade du Stade Olympique |
| Pouzza fest 2020 | May 15 - May 17 | Quartier des spectacles |
| Festival transamériques FTA 2020 | May 20 - June 3 | Downtown Montreal |
On April 10, following the government's request to suspend events across Quebec until August 31, evenko confirmed that its festivals, notably OSHEAGA, ILESONIQ and LASSO Montreal will not take place on the scheduled dates, without however officially cancel said festivals. The Montreal Pride Festival scheduled from August 6 to 16, 2020 was also cancelled.
On May 19, the Montreal Pride announced that a virtual parade would take place from August 10 to 16, 2020. The next day, the Backstreet Boys officially postponed their DNA tour, which was scheduled to stop at the Bell Centre in Montreal on September 16.
On May 22, Minister of Culture Nathalie Roy announced the reopening of museum institutions, cultural product loan counters and drive-ins as of Friday, May 29 throughout Quebec
On May 29, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts announced the resumption of its activities as of June 6, 2020
On June 4, the OSM played for the first time in two months at the Maison Symphonique de Montréal
On June 9, the Osheaga and ILE SONIQ music festivals, which took place every summer in Montreal, were postponed to 2021
On June 17, the organizers of the Montreal International Jazz Festival announced that a festival would take place from June 27 to 30, but online.
As of July 6, the active and safe routes put in place to respond to physical distancing measures were animated through digital works. A budget of $800,000 was provided for this purpose.
On June 22, the Opéra de Montréal postponed its Jenufa and La Traviata productions, scheduled for fall 2020, due to COVID-19.
On June 23, the McCord Museum reopened. The next day was the MAC and the 25th the Stewart Museum.
Because of the pandemic, Quebec's national holiday, Saint-Jean-Baptiste, which normally takes place on June 23 in Quebec City and June 24 in Montreal, took place instead on June 23 in Trois-Rivières.
Economy
While the unemployment rate in Canada for the month of April 2020 was 13%, it was estimated in the Montreal metropolitan area it was 18.2%, up 13.4 percentage points since February. Towards the end of April, Montreal announced a plan to cut its finances in order to fill the deficit of 500 million. The Conference Board believed that economic activity in the Montreal region will decline by 3.6% this year, the result of a fall of 6.6% expected in the second quarter. In addition, the Montreal market should lose almost 55,000 jobs in 2020, with an unemployment rate of up to 8.9%.On May 7, Montreal deployed the Fonds de développement de l'économie sociale of MTL's SMEs, which offered grants of up to $50,000 for start-up, growth or consolidation projects.
On May 19, for the first time in almost two and a half months, Montreal gas stations sold a liter of regular fuel at a price greater than $1 per liter.
After a record year in 2019 with a tonnage of goods handled on its quays which exceeded 40 million tonnes, the CEO of the Montreal Port Authority announced on May 19 that she foresaw a 12% drop in traffic in 2020 compared to 2019 due to the pandemic.
On May 21, the city postponed for one month the presentation of its economic recovery plan linked to the COVID-19 crisis. On June 2, Valérie Plante said that the city's economic recovery plan would be unveiled in "the next few weeks".
According to a survey by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Quebec, Montreal was, with 35.6% of respondents claiming to have experienced a strong impact related to covid, the region least affected by the pandemic on the economic level of Quebec.
On June 2, the committee of experts chaired by the economist Luc Godbout, Richard Sheamur and Raquel Fonseca presented his .
On June 3, Mayor Valérie Plante postponed the second payment of property taxes
On June 4, the Minister of Finance announced that the late deconfinement of Montreal would cause Quebec's GDP to drop by almost 6%
On June 5, with the rate reduction mainly affecting Bombardier's mid-range model, the Challenger, assembled in Montreal, the Montreal-based multinational announced the elimination of 2,500 jobs by the end of the year, including 1,500 in Quebec
On June 8, the federal and provincial governments provided $50 million in financial assistance to improve emergency assistance to small and medium-sized businesses in Montreal.
While the Suncor company was suffering a loss of more than 3.5B$ due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company planned to lower its utilization rates in 2020 by almost 10%. In the East Montreal refinery, 137,000 barrels of gasoline and diesel are produced every day.
On June 17, the City of Montreal unveiled its 22 million plan for the economic revival of the metropolis over a 6-month horizon.
As of June 18:
- 160,000 jobs were lost in Greater Montreal : Particularly high job losses in sectors where personal contact is more pronounced: accommodation and food services ; education ; information, culture and leisure
- Foreign direct investment down 30% to 40%
- An 80% shortfall in revenue for the culture and tourism industries for the 2020 summer season.
On June 22, the Montreal company Frank And Oak went into court protection due to the pandemic; Sears, Aldo, Stokes, La Senza, SAIL and Reimans had to do the same because of the pandemic.
The closure of the Casino de Montréal, between March 12 and June 25, would have deprived Loto-Québec of approximately $2.5M per day, or $330M in total.
Education
On Friday March 13, the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, announced the closure of schools, CEGEPs and universities until March 30, 2020. On March 22, Quebec extended the school closing period until May 1.| English Montreal School Board | Commission scolaire de Montréal | Private schools | CEGEP | Universities | |
| Number of schools | 64 | 189 | 270 | 12 | 9 |
| Number of students | 35,000 | 115,018 | 125,000 | 54,000 | 190,000 |
On April 20, the Minister of Education and Higher Education of Quebec announced that the results of the 2020 winter session would not be counted in the calculation of the R score.
Many experts on May 6 fear a significant increase in high school dropout, which before the pandemic was 15%. On May 12, in a survey commissioned by the Canadian Association of University Teachers and the Canadian Federation of Students, 77% of Canadian students said they were worried about their future, 70% among them feared not having a job this summer and 30% of them considered leaving their post-secondary studies. On May 15, In a letter sent to Premier Legault, the ministries of health and education and the mayoress of Montreal, the pediatric association noted a significant delay in the cognitive development of students in Greater Montreal is to be expected because of the prolonged course close.
According to Immigration and Citizenship Canada data, some 30,700 foreign students study in Quebec in 2019. About a third of McGill University students come from abroad and between 8% to 10% of Université de Montréal students. In order to make up for this possibility of losing a large number of students, the Université de Montréal has already indicated that all of its faculties will hold the fall 2020 session by online classes. On May 14, it was Concordia University's turn to do the same. Two days earlier, the 12 Cégeps de la Métropole had announced similar measures. On May 20, UQAM announced that its fall 2020 session would be held remotely and online. On May 26, the Quebec government allowed international students to start their courses this fall even if they are physically abroad.
On May 27, the Quebec government asked universities and Cégeps to prepare to welcome 30% of their students in person for the fall of 2020. As WHO suspended clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine following the publication of an in The Lancet, Le Devoir reported that Dr. McDonald, director of the Clinical Practice Assessment Unit of the McGill University Health Centre, continued its clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine
On June 1, Daniel Jutras succeeded Guy Breton as rector of UdeM. He delivered a message posted online because of the pandemic.
Environment
Air pollution
The decrease in air traffic, the closure of factories, the increase in telework, and consequently a significant reduction in road vehicles on the road network, have had the effect of significantly reducing greenhouse gases. According to data from the Réseau de la surveillance de la qualité de l'air, in the east of the city, the average air quality index was 26.2. For the same period last year, the average was 32.6. Obviously, the better the air quality, the lower the index. This index measures conventional gaseous pollutants, particulate pollution, volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.In Montreal, nitrogen dioxide dropped more than 30% during the first two months of the pandemic. Air pollution in Montreal in the spring of 2020 was the lowest since 1997.
Biodiversity
Like metropolises around the world, more wild animals were seen during the pandemic in Montreal.On April 3, 2020, the chief scientist of Québec and QuébecOiseaux announced the creation of the Des oiseaux à la Maison. As of May 3, 166 species had been sighted in Montreal.
From May 30, a humpback whale was staying near the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, finding itself more than 400 kilometers from its natural habitat. On May 31, the 3-4 year old calf would have made more than 50 jumps in the old port.
Waste management
Empty cans and bottles
Between the end of March and June 22, 2020, Quebec retailers were not obliged to return returnable containers.Selective collection of recyclable materials
It was in the 1990s that the selective collective of materials began. According to Statistics Canada, in 2013–2014, Canadians avoided sending over 9 million recycled materials to the landfill. Of this number, more than half went to China. In Quebec, the 27 sorting centres, no longer able to sell our "recyclable" materials, have asked for state aid to survive. In early 2018, the Plante administration injected $29.9 million into the Montreal sorting centre. In January 2020, two of the three sorting centres in Montreal threatened to close, including one that had received the subsidy of nearly 30 million two years earlier.Garbage and recyclable materials were recognized as an essential service during the pandemic. Although not in the position of the City of Quebec where 80% of the contents of the recycling bins were stored by, a large significant quantity of materials normally recycled ended up in the dumps.
As for other materials such as household appliances, refrigerators, wood, sofas, tires, construction residues, dangerous household and green residues, the 7 ecocentres of the agglomeration of Montreal remained open according to the usual schedule, although it was strongly recommended not to go.
Plastic bag
On February 6, 2020, Mayor Valérie Plante announced the end of plastic bags in all merchants in Montreal by the end of 2020. However, during the crisis, several companies, such as Loblaw or IGA decided to no longer accept reusable bags belonging to customers, the latter having to use plastic bags. Consequence: packaging manufacturers increased their production by 20% A phenomenon that was observed across Canada.Food insecurity
Normally, without the pandemic, one in six people suffered from food insecurity, while 614,000 people were in poverty and exclusion in Greater Montreal. But with the pandemic, in April, Moisson Montréal distributed $7.4 million in foodstuffs, $2.3 million more than in 2019 and the organization had to help 50% more families every day.The health crisis also deprived the 32,000 children who normally had lunch in one of the Breakfast Club programs. On April 5, the Government of Quebec and the Breakfast Club announced that the funds normally intended for the distribution of breakfasts will be allocated to regional food distribution organizations
On June 5, Moisson Montreal announced that as of May 5, $20M of food had been distributed, which was almost 5MS more than last year.
Health
Health workers
Saturday April 17, a first attendant to the beneficiary fell in coma against COVID-19.Wednesday, April 29, a beneficiary attendant died after working with patients affected by COVID-19 from CHSLD Cartierville.
Thursday, May 21, a beneficiary attendant who came to lend a hand in CHSLDs died as a result of COVID-19.
On May 13, nearly 20% of the 19,875 COVID-19 positive cases were healthcare workers.
On May 21, a fourth beneficiary attendant in Montreal died as a result of COVID-19.
On May 27, health workers demonstrated in several cities in Quebec, including Montreal, to demand their right to vacation.
In a press conference on June 2, Premier François Legault stated that the majority of the 10,000 beneficiary attendant positions to be filled targeted the Montreal region.
On June 11, a sixth beneficiary attendant died from COVID-19 at the age of 48.
On June 15, a surgeon at the Sacré-Coeur hospital in Montreal was in intensive care because of COVID-19
Long-term nursing homes
On April 2, 480 cases were detected in Montreal, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2,642. Of these, there are 17 deaths. In addition, more than 20 outbreaks have been observed in long-term care facilities.On May 15, four of the 1,400 soldiers of the Canadian Armed Forces deployed in CHSLDs in Quebec.
On July 5, the Red Cross began its accelerated training to replace the soldiers in the CHSLDs
Medical protective equipment
March 20, grocery store workers asked the Quebec government and food banners to strengthen measures to protect them from the virusOn March 24, more and more nurses, some at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, deemed their equipment inadequate.
On March 25, McGill University donated all of its medical protective equipment to the Government of Quebec. An "obvious" shortage of equipment was observed everywhere in the health network.
On March 26, many health care workers feared they could run out of N95 masks and asked Quebec companies that had them to consider giving them to health professionals.
On March 31, while Quebec was concerned about a potential shortage of protective equipment, the federal government had found more than 175 million surgical masks, some of this equipment came from the Montreal company Medicom.
On April 2, the Department of Health and Social Services began to prepare the transfer of medical equipment from the regions least affected by COVID-19 to the Montreal region.
On April 11, some hospitals in the Montreal region had difficulty finding certain drugs such as acetaminophen or Ativan.
On April 18, employees of two CHSLDs north of Montreal reported that they lacked the necessary protective equipment to carry out their tasks during a pandemic. In the private accommodation centre on boulevard Gouin, there was a shortage of protective gowns. A similar problem had occurred at the CIUSS Centre-Sud in Montreal a few days earlier.
Having been deconfigured since April 20, many Montreal construction contractors, at the beginning of June 2020, had great difficulty in finding protective masks.
Mental health
On May 22, General Roméo Dallaire launched the "Bâtissons l'espoir" movement with the Douglas Foundation to raise awareness of the mental health issues caused by the COVID-19 crisis.On May 29, the Montreal Mental Health University Institute launched a weekly survey of hospital staff on the Ethica application to assess their mental health.
On June 5, Laval University published a report reporting that more than 56% of women and 41% of men in the Quebec job market were in psychological distress. A similar study by the Institut de la statistique du Québec published in 2015 indicated that it was 33% for women and 24% for men.
According to a study by the University of Sherbrooke, the levels of depression and anxiety were three times higher than before the pandemic, despite a slight improvement in psychological health since crossing the peak of the first wave of COVID-19, last April.
Overwhelmed hospitals
On March 20, the EPIC Centre, one of the largest cardiovascular prevention centre in Canada with more than 5,303 registered members, suspended its activities until further notice. As of April 28, four of the five surgical units at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital were infected with COVID-19 patients. On May 7, Le Devoir newspaper revealed that a patient with COVID-19 had been in the emergency room of Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital for more than 100 hours.On March 27, while Quebec had 2,021 cases confirmed to COVID-19 and the Jewish General Hospital treated approximately 40% of the 50 intensive care patients, the hospitals of Verdun and Hôpital Notre-Dame did not treat any COVID-19 patient.
As of May 1, thirty patients and 34 health care workers at Lakeshore General Hospital have been diagnosed with covid. The Lakeshore was filled to beyond its capacity and the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal is sending new patients to a field hospital set by the Canadian Red Cross inside a hockey arena in LaSalle.
On May 6, the National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services published a study, according to which the room for maneuver for Montreal hospitals would be very slim in the event of an increase in hospitalization related to COVID.
On May 18, Minister of Health and Social Services Danielle McCan announced that non-emergency surgeries postponed due to COVID-19 would gradually resume in Quebec hospitals, but only at a rate of approximately 40% in Greater Montreal, The next day, the Minister raised the possibility of cancer patients in Montreal having surgery outside Montreal, for example, at the Hotel-Dieu de Québec.
However, the Montreal Children's Hospital and CHU Sainte-Justine received slightly less than half of patients during COVID than usual. On June 5, a potential delay of 24,000 oncology surgeries was caused by COVID-19.
Homeless
On March 19, restaurants distributed the equivalent of 2,000 meals to several charities.On March 20, Mayor Plante unveiled an emergency plan for the homeless in the metropolis. The former Royal Victoria Hospital was transformed into an isolation centre for the homeless in order to fight COVID-19. In the meantime, some hotels have welcomed homeless people who have passed a COVID-19 test and are awaiting their results.
Between March 23 and April 20, a temporary COVID-19 screening clinic was set up at Place des Festivals in the Quartier des spectacles in Montreal. This walk-in clinic prioritized health care workers or the homeless
On March 24, La Presse learned that officially, a first homeless person had COVID-19. The latter had resided the day before at the Old Brewery Mission.
On March 28 and 29, at the request of the City of Montreal, the Canadian Red Cross distributed food to the poorest of the Ville-Marie borough.
On April 29, the Trudeau government contributed $21.4 million to its program to fight homelessness. Only $7 million was reserved for the Montreal region, aid deemed far below Montreal's needs. On June 12, the Minister of Health and Social Services announced the addition of $3 million, for a total of $10 million
On March 31, the City of Montreal announced the opening of three day shelters and two additional night shelters would open to accommodate COVID-19 homeless people. Some 1,500 meals a day were distributed in these centres.
Between the beginning and mid-April, the number of homeless people in Montreal suffering from COVID-19 triple to reach a total of 9 as of April 15. Since mid-April, the City of Montreal and the public health network have opened more than 540 beds in several temporary accommodation centres Which was one of the main reasons why the City declared a local state of emergency. However, a similar number of beds had been removed as a measure of diversion since approximately 50% of the beds in large shelters had to close.
On June 4, when 21 homeless people had received a positive diagnosis from COVID-19 out of the 635 who had been screened, SPVM police proceeded to destroy several makeshift camps erected by homeless people
A total of 20 overdoses have been recorded among hard drug users in Montreal, a peak since the beginning of the year. According to several speakers, this could be linked to the pandemic. According to Accueil Bonneau, many homeless Montrealers with alcohol, drug and mental health problems have relapsed since the pandemic interrupted a large number of resources, such as meetings with Alcoholics Anonymous, were suspended
According to Samuel Watts, President and CEO of Mission Bon Accueil, COVID-19 has had the positive effect of forcing the creation of air-conditioned spaces for the homeless.
Housing
As of April 6, 46% of homeowners claimed they had not received all of their rents for the month of March 2020, whereas a historic 68% drop in transactions last April was recorded in Montreal.On May 27, Mayor Plante asked Quebec City for emergency assistance of $5 million to help people in need to help out. Earlier that month, the Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urgain, supported by 25 other community groups, warned that the pandemic could seriously worsen the housing crisis in Montreal.
The number of residential transactions in Greater Montréal decreased by 41% in May compared to the same month in 2019. It was the second consecutive month marked by a significant decrease.
On May 27, the City of Montreal announced that it would assist the 80,000 to 100,000 households who would change their address on July 1.
As of June 23, at least 126 Montreal families could not find a place to relocate.
Justice system
Detention centres
When an individual is sentenced to less than two years in prison, he will serve it in a provincial jail. The Montreal region has two detention facilities on its territory.On May 19, a 70-year-old inmate from Bordeau Detention Centre with COVID-19 was taken to hospital. His death confirmed the next day.
May
June
July
Judiciary process
It is in Montreal that a first virtual trial took place in Quebec.On May 28, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Quebec, Ms. Sonia LeBel, confirmed that as of June 1, 2020, judicial activities could gradually resume in Quebec courthouses.
On June 5, the City of Montreal announced that the Municipal Court was gradually resuming its activities
Trials and COVID-19
Between mid-March and May 31, 2020, only urgent applications were processed by the Criminal DivisionOn May 19, a request for authorization to bring a class action against 15 universities in Quebec was filed
Racism
On January 29, when Canada only had 3 COVID-19 positive cases, the Chinese community denounced the "surge of racist comments" made against their community on social networks in Canada. The remarks were denounced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the mayor of Brossard, Doreen Assad, and Horacio Arruda, director of public health. During the month of February, numerous acts of vandalism targeting pagodas, while Montreal's Chinatown was deserted. Montreal artist Ravy Puth has launched an illustration campaign to denounce racism stemming from the pandemic. On March 15, a Korean researcher was stabbed in Côte-des-Neiges. Whether fuelled by racism or a random act of violence, the stabbing sent a shock wave through the Asian community. On June 3, the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations published a report documenting incidents of hatred and violence against Montrealers of Asian origin. As of June 11, more than 5,000 people were part of the self-help group against racism against Asians in Quebec. Online survey by Angus Reid Institute in partnership with University of Alberta found that 43% of Canadians of Chinese descent or descent say they have been threatened or intimidated since the start of the COVID pandemic -19.At the beginning of April, it was the Jewish population of Montreal who felt unfairly laying blame for the spread of the virus on Montreal.
In honor of George Floyd, protest were organized on May 31, June 7 and June 14 in front of the headquarters of the Montreal City Police Service to denounce violence, racism and police impunity. Masks were distributed due to the pandemic.
Religious
On March 12, the Assembly of Quebec Bishops cancelled all masses during the pandemic. Following this news, the Archbishop of Montreal, Monseigneur Christian Lépine, held masses in camera the following Sunday from the crypt of Saint Joseph's Oratory. However, on March 20, the Archdiocese of Quebec ordered the closure of all churches, chapels of worship and public oratories until further notice.On March 13, the Canadian Council of Imams asked all mosques to suspend services for the duration of the pandemic; more than 25 mosques are located in the territory of Montreal. On the occasion of Ramadan, the Islamic organization Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama of Montreal offered a "virtual" version of the celebration
On March 18, leaders of the Montreal Hasidic Jewish community decided to close all the synagogues in the territory.
Research
On March 23, a team at the Montreal Heart Institute led by Jean-Claude Tardif launched a clinical trial exploring the use of colchicine to help treat complications of COVID-19. The first results are expected for the month of June 2020. On April 30, Ontarians Affected by COVID-19 could Now Participate in the Study. The clinical trial was then available in Montreal, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Madrid-Spain and British Columbia. On May 13, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded a $3 million grant to the Montreal Heart Institute for Dr. Tardif's project. A few days later, Dr. Tardif informed the Journal de Montréal that the recruitment of 6,000 patients should be completed in June 2020. On June 30, the Montreal Heart Institute announced that the COLCORONA clinical study will continue to recruit non-hospitalized adult patients with COVID-19.On March 26, the Fonds de recherche du Québec and Génome Québec established a provincial task force to build a biobank of COVID-19 samples, led by McGill University chair Vincent Mooser. By May 5, 494 patients had been recruited. On May 24, it was a dozen hospitals that had recruited more than 1,000 patients. On June 22, Marc Parent, President and CEO of CAE made a personal donation of $100,000 to the Foundation of the McGill University Health Center to support research related to the Quebec Biobank of COVID-19.
Mila, an artificial intelligence institute in Montreal, is developing contact tracing software for mobile phones. Federal government invests $40 million on April 23. The application, which is called , was launched on May 18, 2020. Louise Arbour and Louise Otis, two ex-judges joined the project a few days later. However, on June 10, Le Devoir reported that it would seem that it was Shopify, who developed a digital tracking tool called Covid Shield, that the Trudeau government would prefer.
On April 14, the McConnel Chair in Research-Creation on the reappropriation of maternity at the Université de Montréal launched a participatory and collective work project called Pregnancy in confinement. The project aimed to collect works of pregnant women or women who have recently given birth so that they can express their state of mind.
On May 1, a developed by economists at the University of Montreal demonstrated that Quebec had 12 times more COVID-19 cases at the time than the number reported.
On May 6, the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre conducted the first evaluation of a robot that disinfects using ultraviolet light in Canada.
On May 7, a group of Canadian and American researchers was conducting research to try to determine where and when the next pandemic would occur. The study was led by Timothée Poisot, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Montreal.
Starting in June, the Ad5-nCoV vaccine, developed by the Chinese company CanSino Biologics and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology will be manufactured in Montreal and tested in Canada. The vaccine was tested between March 16 and March 27, 2020 in Wuhan. The Lancet magazine reported on May 22 that it was the first COVID-19 vaccine to successfully complete Phase 1.
On May 20, the Vaccine Study Centre of the McGill University Health Centre began recruiting participants to test potential vaccines against COVID-19.
On May 15, the first transfusion of convalescent plasma to a patient with COVID-19 in Canada took place Thursday at CHU Sainte-Justine. Scientists from CHU Sainte-Justine, the Research Centre, the University of Montreal Hospital Centre, the Jewish General Hospital, Héma-Québec and several other hospitals in the province participated in this project. The patient was then released from intensive care.
On June 1, a led by professors Michael Tyers, Yoshua Bengio and Anne Marinier was launched. This project, funded to the tune of one million dollars by Génome Québec, is a mixture of artificial intelligence, genomics and medicinal chemistry
On June 3, a team of researchers from UQAM had recruited 2,000 participants for a study on the psychological impact of COVID-19.
On July 3, a team of researchers from the University of Quebec in Montreal and Manitoba received funding of $622,782 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to develop a nonovaccinc against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Sports
The National Hockey League and Major League Soccer have suspended their regular seasons, affecting the Montreal Canadiens and Montreal Impact. With Major League Baseball suspending preseason play, the Toronto Blue Jays' annual preseason series at Olympic Stadium was also cancelled. The 2020 World Figure Skating Championships being hosted by Montreal were cancelled on March 11.On April 7, Formula One postponed the Canadian Grand Prix. Four days later, Tennis Canada announced that pursuant to the request by the provincial government, the women's portion of the Canadian Open was cancelled; Montreal is now scheduled to host the 2021 women's tournament instead. The women's and men's competitions normally alternate between Montreal and Toronto.
On April 15, in a press release from the organization of the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Montréal and the Union Cycliste Internationale, the stages in Montreal and Quebec, the only UCI WorldTour races presented in America, retain their place on the 2020 calendar. In a press release dated July 2, the organizers of the Grands Prix cyclistes de Québec and de Montréal announced that they were continuing their preparation for the two races scheduled for September 11 and 13. However, both courses were canceled on July 23.
Other provincial sports bodies have also suspended activities, including Basketball Québec, Baseball Québec, Hockey Québec, and Soccer Québec. Other local events that have faced cancellations include the Tour de l'Île de Montréal, and various footraces.
On May 6, when MLS leaders gave circuit teams permission to hold individual fitness sessions on the field, the Montreal Impact players still have not received city approvals. The Montreal Regional Department of Public Health refused the request the next day, while the city of Toronto said yes to the Toronto FC.
On May 7, Randy Ambrosie, the commissioner of the Canadian Football League told the House of Commons that the most likely scenario was to cancel the 2020 season, which include the Montreal Alouettes. In the meantime, the Alouettes' cheerleaders have given free performances outside some CHSLDs affected by the virus. On May 20, the CFL announced the postponement of the start of its 2020 season to September 1
On May 13, Isabelle Charest, the Minister for Sports and Recreation of Quebec announced that from May 20, golf, singles tennis, fishing, rowing, cycling, sailing, swimming in open water, athletics, can be practiced anywhere in Quebec, including in Montreal.
On May 15, Montreal Canadiens goalkeeper Carey Price and his wife provided meals to 160 workers in the maternity department and the neonatal intensive care unit at the Jewish General Hospital and 1,200 health workers. The couple had already donated $50,000 to the Breakfast Club of Canada Emergency Fund. In addition to Price, Philip Danault, Jeff Petry, Brendan Gallagher and Nick Suzuki have also made various donations.
At the end of May, the players of the national hockey league accepted the scenario, proposed unanimously by the governors of the Betmann circuit, 29–2. Montreal Canadians will take part in the spring ball.
On June 2, Formula 1 released its modified 2020 calendar, and that of Montreal was still not canceled.
On June 8, the Montreal Impact held its first training in small groups. Two days later, Commissioner Garber announced that the 25th season of MLS would restart July 8 in Orlando
On June 8, U SPORTS, the governing body for university sport in Canada, announced the cancellation of its six national championships in the fall of 2020, including the Vanier Cup.
On June 22, the Montreal Carabins football team resumed collective practices.
On June 24, MLS announced the schedule for its MLS is Back tournament, which included a return to play for the Montreal Impact on July 9 in Orlando against the New England Revolution.
On June 26, World Triathlon rescheduled the Montreal stage of the World Triathlon and Paratriathlon Series, postponed because of the pandemic, to October 3 and 4, at Parc Jean-Drapeau.
On July 3, the Montreal Impact admitted to restructuring caused by the pandemic.
On July 23, defenseman Xavier Ouellet of the Montreal Canadiens announced that he had received a positive result for COVID-19 before the start of training camp. A few days later, it was Brett Kulak's turn to admit having tested positive for COVID-19 in early July.
On July 24, François Dumontier, President and CEO of the 2020 Grand Prix du Canada race in Montreal announced that the race will not finally take place.
On July 30, the organizers of the Montreal Marathon announced the cancellation of the 2020 edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was supposed to take place on September 19 and 20, 2020.
Tourism
In 2019, Montreal received more than 11 million visitors a year and nearly $5 billion in revenue. The Old Port alone attracts nearly 7 million tourists a yearOn April 9, the organization Tourisme Montréal foresaw an 80% loss of revenue for the summer season, while half of the hotel establishments had already suspended their operations. In 2019, Montreal welcomed 11 million tourists, more than 3 million from outside Canada, generating revenue of $4.85 billion.
As of April 26, of the 140 business conferences scheduled in the metropolitan area until mid-June, almost 50 had been postponed and 70 were cancelled. According to Tourisme Montréal, the events postponed until that date represented direct expenses of $55 million, including 70,000 nights reserved at the hotel.
For the month of April, the occupancy rate of hotels in Montreal fell from 70% to only 3%.
On May 19, Tourisme Montréal and Ig2 invited Montrealers to rediscover their city with the challenge.
On May 22, the organizers of Movin'On, the World Summit on Sustainable Mobility, announced that it would return to Montreal in 2021. The 2020 edition was canceled due to the pandemic.
On June 2, Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal stated that nearly 10 million fewer visitors will be in Montreal during the summer because of the health measures decreed to halt the spread of COVID-19.
On June 12, one day after Quebec announced $750 million in assistanceto revive the tourism industry, the Greater Montreal Hotel Association maintained that the proposals did not take into account the gravity of the impact of the pandemic on the Montreal region
Without making any official forecasts, the Greater Montreal Hotel Association forecast occupancy rates ranging from 10% to 15% for the months of July and August. By comparison, last year, for the same periods, we expected rates of 83.5% and 87.8%.
From August 1 to 8, 2020, the city of Montreal was to host the World Esperanto Congress, but it was postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Transport
On March 4, the Société des transports de Montréal adopted new hygiene measures to counter the spread of the coronavirus in its facilities.On March 12, when the City of Montreal closed its public places, the STM kept its metro and bus networks open. In addition to the increased cleaning, individual disinfectant solutions for employees in contact with the public were provided. The next day, the transportation company prohibited all of its employees from traveling outside Quebec.
On March 16, the Minister of Transport announced that air carriers would refuse to board any passenger who was not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada from March 18 on flights to Canada. For other passengers, Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport was designated by the federal government as one of the four airports in Canada to remain open for international flights.
From March 17, the Société de transport de Montréal decided to no longer control the tickets of users who use the buses. Then, as of March 24, the STM no longer accepted cash. According to figures from the transportation agency, there was a 75% decrease in daily bus trips. And in the metro, we're talking about an 80% decrease. As of May 5, the decline in ridership exceeded 80%
On March 23, the first STM employee tested positive for COVID-19. By April 15, it was 34 employees with COVID-19, including 14 bus drivers. An officer from the Montreal police service was also admitted to intensive care. The man was in his late thirties and was assigned to the Montreal metro.
On March 25, users of public transportation in Greater Montreal who purchased an annual pass were reimbursed for the payment of April. Two days later, transportation companies in Greater Montreal reduced their services because of the coronavirus lockdown
On April 7, the STM announced the suspension of non-essential activities in metro stations. Among these measures, the solicitation and distribution in person of free printed material was no longer permitted. Therefore, the magazine could no longer be distributed.
On April 10, the union of bus drivers of the Société de transport de Montréal asked that public transit users wear the mask.
The 2020 season for BIXI bikes began as scheduled on April 15. In addition, additional instructions regarding hygiene measures were strongly recommended. The service offered as of April 15, 2020 includes: 7,270 regular bikes, 160 electric bikes, 610 stations spread over 142 square kilometers. Unlike in previous years, no advertising was displayed on the rear wheel.
On April 11, figures from the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority predicted that customer traffic declines in recent weeks, due to general confinement, could cause a loss of $ 75M for the month of April
On April 28, the STM announced that it would acquire and distribute artisanal masks for its employees
On May 27, some 425 Montreal taxis were fitted with protective partitions. By the end of June 2020, some 900 taxis in the metropolis should be equipped in this way. It was also on May 27 that the Montreal Ombusdman, Johanne Savard, sent the city a recommendation to pay attention to the most vulnerable during urban redevelopment. This plan, announced a few days earlier, provided for more than 327 additional kilometers for pedestrians and cyclists.
On May 29, Transport Minister Marc Garneau confirmed that international cruises will be banned in Canada. This measure could lose a billion dollars in economic spinoffs in Quebec.
The Montreal metro, which experienced declines in ridership exceeding 90% in March and April, reported an 86% decrease in ridership in early June.
On June 3, the President of the Treasury Board, Christian Dubé, introduced Bill 61 to stimulate the Quebec economy. Once adopted, this law would allow the STM to be able to expropriate without going through the courts or requesting the opinion of Québec throughout its territory. The purpose of this measure is to facilitate the extension of the blue line in eastern Montreal.
On June 4, Radio-Canada revealed that at least two taxi drivers serving Montréal-Trudeau airport had died from COVID-19.
From June 4 at noon, personnel aboard aircraft must wear a non-medical mask. Passengers had to comply with this obligation since April 17.
On June 18, the Metropolitan Regional Transport Authority forecast losses of $523 million for the industry. A loss that could continue next year.
On June 19, the president and chief executive officer of Aéroports de Montréal, Philippe Rainville, in an open letter distributed to the media, asked the governments of Quebec and Ottawa to grant "a loan with flexible repayment terms in based on restoring revenues "so that the Metropolitan Express Network project, valued at $ 250 million, can move forward. With air traffic falling by 97% due to the pandemic, ADM predicted a 60% drop in revenues for 2020.
From June 22, the wearing of face covers will be imposed on travelers and employees at Pierre-Eliot Trudeau Airport. From June 23, it was the turn of VIA Rail passengers to be forced to wear the mask.
On June 26, the ARTM announced the gradual lifting of the COVID-19 lockdown measures and a return to normal fare collection on buses.
On June 29, Dr. Arruda announced that the Quebec government would announce the following day the mandatory wearing of masks for public transport users.
On June 30, Premier Legault confirmed that the mask will be mandatory for passengers 12 years and older from Monday, July 13.
On July 9, the Quebec government announced emergency assistance of $ 8.2 million for interurban transportation. The bus service between Montreal and Quebec could resume the next day. This trip was canceled due to the pandemic.
Since July 13, seven hawkers from the Metro newspaper have been distributing masks to STM users.
Starting July 27, STM users may be denied access to those who do not want to wear a mask. Several altercations were caused by users refusing to submit to the compulsory wearing of a masks.