Rat complaints spike in Montreal, opposition wants City to implement rodent control plan

There has been a rise in the number of rat-related complaints in Montreal over the past two years. City of Montreal data obtained in an access-to-information request by the Canadian Press shows that more than 1,700 calls were made to the city’s 311 phone line concerning rats in 2024.

This is an increase from just over 1,000 calls in 2022. These calls concerned complaints, comments, and requests for information about rats. 

“Yes, I’ve noticed an increase in it, but only because I’ve seen it in more common areas than just going into alleyways and seeing them,” said Parichehr Peyvandy, a Notre-Dame-de-Grâce resident.

Warid Khokhar, who works in Côte-des-Neiges, says, “For sure in back alleys of almost every alley in downtown, especially.”

Carmen Kalaw, a Côte-des-Neiges resident, adds, “Last year there were lots of rats. We also had a lot of rats in our building here in Queen Mary.” 

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Ville-Marie and Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension are the two boroughs that reported the most calls, while Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce more than tripled its rat-related calls in the past two years. 

“The residents are really feeling distressed because it’s impacting their quality of life. It’s coming into their homes, it’s eating their food, it’s nibbling on, you know, the wires in their households,” said Stephanie Valenzuela, opposition City councillor for Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

Valenzuela says that the city has done little to implement a rat control plan motion proposed by the opposition that was passed unanimously in 2023. 

“Many of them are Projet Montréal boroughs, haven’t implemented closed bin trash on the public domain, such as Côte-des-Neiges–NDG. So if you walk along streets like Côte-des-Neiges, Queen Mary, it’s still like an open feast for the rats and the squirrels that get to jump into the bin and find food there.”

In a statement to CityNews, the office of the Côte-des-Neiges–NDG borough said that one of the biggest challenges in controlling rats in certain areas remains food waste management, particularly in alleys. They added that the borough has launched an awareness campaign and that municipal inspectors conduct regular inspections. 

The City of Montreal also provided CityNews with statistics that reveal that more than 1,150 calls to 311 were made for requests for rat extermination in 2024, compared to 717 in 2022.

“I noticed the fact that they’re just like really close to you now,” said Peyvendy. “They would come right next to you if you’re sitting in front of a door or if you’re in front of a restaurant.”

Kalaw says, “It’s big rats really, not small, big rats in the garbage places.” Adding, “In every garbage spot, there are rats, really and it’s very annoying.”