Downtown Montreal having busy summer, like pre-pandemic days: business group

Montreal’s downtown activity returned to pre-pandemic rates this summer.

The city saw its lowest inactivity rate since before the pandemic – dropping from 24 to 16 per cent.

“We have a strong and kicking downtown that is back stronger than ever and that will continue to be doing better thanks to the investments and the collaboration of all our partners in downtown Montreal,” said Glenn Castanheira, the executive director at SDC Montréal centre-ville.

Castanheira says Sainte-Catherine Street is performing two times better than it did before renovations, and on average six businesses are opening for every one closing

He adds people are also spending more time downtown, and pedestrian-only streets and the renovation of outdoor public spaces – like Philips Square – have contributed to the numbers.

Press conference outlining downtown Montreal’s successful summer, Aug. 15, 2023. (Hayder Mahdy/CityNews)

Tourism has also reached pre-pandemic highs. Tourism Montreal says the ongoing festivals bring in visitors from new markets, with Place des Festivals seeing a record-breaking summer so far.

“We have far more people than only from France and the U.S. this year coming to Montreal,” said Yves Lalumière, the president and CEO of Tourism Montreal. “We have about 15 per cent growth from different markets such as Brazil, the U.K., such as Copenhagen, the rest of Europe has been extremely popular for us in Montreal.”

Tourism Montreal also says hotel occupancy rates reached more than 80 per cent – higher than expected.