Assaults in Montreal metro hit record high in 2025

Safety on Montreal’s metro system is in the spotlight as new police data show physical assaults reached a record high in 2025.

Data from the SPVM show there were 726 cases of assault in 2025 — the highest level recorded in the past six years. It’s a sharp increase from 631 in 2024 and 652 in 2023.

Cmdr. Angélique Beaudet says the rise in cases was driven by a spike in reported assaults in January 2025 for reasons that are not totally clear, adding that the rest of the year was largely stable.

The number of assaults in 2025 was higher than at any point since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which led to a major drop in ridership. Police say the data before 2020 was collected in a different way and therefore not comparable to later years.

Overall violent events in the metro system also rose, with total police interventions reaching 859 in 2025, up from 811 the previous year. In response, authorities doubled police operations in the metro network targeting drug-related activity, which they believe is linked to the increase in violence.

The spike comes despite slight declines in other crime categories. Reported robberies dropped to 85 in 2025 from 122 in 2024, while sexual offences fell to 47 from 58. There was one attempted murder reported in 2025, compared with none the year before.

In June 2025, the STM made permanent a ban on loitering in metro stations following a six-week pilot project. The transit agency said the measure led to a greater sense of safety among riders and a drop in crime during the trial period.

“Our goal has always been to avoid finding ourselves in this situation again,” and STM spokesperson told CityNews in a statement. “It’s important to understand that the STM operates within a specific social context where a lack of resources adapted to vulnerable people creates a significant presence in our stations—which are not a suitable environment for them—a situation we must address.

“The mandatory movement order is an additional tool that allows us to maintain social balance in the stations by addressing occupancy of the facilities for reasons unrelated to transportation. This measure is frequently used by special constables.”

Cmdr. Beaudet says despite the spike in reported assaults, the Montreal metro remains safe and incidents of violence are mainly isolated.

–With files from The Canadian Press