Ensemble Montréal mayoral candidate pledges to protect performance venues amid new noise bylaws
Posted August 5, 2025 3:16 pm.
As performance venues continue to face uncertainty with lingering new noise bylaws, Ensemble Montréal leader and mayoral candidate, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, is pledging to deploy a new approach to manage noise complaints.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Martinez Ferrada said that if she is elected, performance halls would not be considered in the same way as a noisy neighbours’ party. She insists this must be done in order to ensure the preservation of cultural attractiveness of the metropolis for all citizens.
“Montréal’s nightlife is important not only for Montréal’s cultural scene, but also for the enrichment of neighbourhoods and the city’s economic development,” said Martinez Ferrada. “It is possible to intelligently control noise without stifling cultural venues, which have been struggling for several years now. The City of Montreal must support its creators, artists and musicians, in every way possible.”
Ensemble Montréal, under the leadership of Martinez Ferrada, say they are hoping to save the cultural identity and nightlife of neighbourhoods by directing all noise complaints from a performance hall to a specialized administrative unit rather than police.
“It is not by repressing that we are going to solve the issues of cohabitation,” said Chantal Rossi, Ensemble Montréal critic for culture and heritage. “Ensemble Montréal will be a true ally of performance venues by using all possible levers to ensure their sustainability. We must strengthen Montreal’s cultural scene and not extinguish it with repressive and inappropriate regulations.”
Ensemble Montréal also pledges to manage noise complaints through a mediation process before imposing sanctions.
“MTL 24/24 applauds Ensemble Montréal’s desire to thoroughly rethink the management of noise complaints, by favouring an approach based on mediation, dialogue and processing by a specialized body,” said Martin Chartrand, Executive Director of MTL 24/24. “This is a concrete step towards a better recognition of the vital role that nightlife cultural scenes play in Montreal life.”
