Downtown Montreal public squares getting permanent cleaning crews
Posted May 12, 2025 1:26 pm.
Two major downtown public squares are set to be cleaner than ever.
The City of Montreal, in partnership with downtown businesses and the Ville-Marie borough, is ramping up efforts to boost cleaning of Place du Canada and Dorchester Square.
Director general of Montréal Centre-Ville Glenn Castanheira, flanked by dozens of city cleaning staff, announced the new “public-private partnership” Monday.
“The men that you see on each side of me that ensure cleanliness of downtown and do a wonderful job, so much so that they collect over 8.5 million liters of trash (per year); that’s the equivalent of five Olympic pools,” Castanheira said.
The borough of Ville-Marie is contributing $150,000, while Montréal Centre-Ville is adding $50,000 to the clean-up. Combined with existing private sector contributions from business in the area, the total investment toward general downtown cleanliness now stands at $1.7 million.
Crews already collect around 200 garbage bags per day across the downtown core. Montréal Centre-Ville says it will be hiring more staff to join the 50 or so city cleaning employees who, summer and winter, roam the streets of downtown to collect piles of garbage on the roadway, empty the city’s garbage cans, and sort recyclable materials.
“Two permanent staff will be dedicated to Dorchester Square and Place du Canada from 6 a.m. till 10 p.m. to ensure that these signature public spaces of downtown remain clean,” Castanheira said.
He added that downtown businesses are also investing additional funds of nearly $100,000 to install tables, chairs and umbrellas for public use at both squares.
He says the measures are part of a broader effort to make key public areas in the downtown core cleaner, more functional and more welcoming.
