The Table de concertation des SDC du Plateau-Mont-Royal organized a discussion breakfast on Monday with the candidates for borough mayor. This event aimed to provide a space for direct dialogue between the SDCs and the mayoral contenders in order to address priority issues affecting our commercial arteries. The meeting was held at Connections by Ralia, located at 4281 Saint-Laurent Blvd. You can review the candidates' responses below.

Common Questions

1. Do you commit to maintaining and consolidating the financial support granted by the borough to the SDCs of Plateau-Mont-Royal, in addition to the City of Montreal's SDC Support Program, to ensure the stability and sustainability of their structural projects, which already rely on annual investments of nearly $2.5M from their member merchants?

We commit to maintaining and consolidating the financial support granted to the SDCs of Plateau-Mont-Royal, as we have done in recent years. If our leader is elected, we will have the chance to rely on a mayor of Montreal who fully understands the absolute importance and contribution of our 4 main commercial arteries to the vitality of the neighborhood and the city. This precise understanding of our territory and economic development at the helm of Montreal will be an undeniable asset for the stability and sustainability of your organizations.

2. If elected, do you commit to implementing a concrete cleanliness and beautification plan, including the maintenance and improvement of sidewalks, alleys, street furniture, and public spaces?

We already have a concrete plan regarding cleanliness, which is accompanied by a $1M budget to ensure its implementation over 3 years. Considering the major challenge that cleanliness represents and the numerous actions contained in the action plan, we are working as a priority on the proactive removal of illegal dumping and fining repeat offenders.

We also commit to accelerating the maintenance of sidewalks, bike paths, and roadways to make travel comfortable and safe, as well as keeping more benches in place during the winter period by ensuring their manual snow removal.

3. If elected, do you commit to strengthening and coordinating local initiatives regarding social cohabitation and homelessness, in collaboration with community organizations, institutional partners, and socioeconomic stakeholders?

We primarily intend to support and guide the development of housing projects to prevent homelessness or to house people experiencing homelessness, as we are doing with the Projet Autochtone Québec shelter, the expansion of Le Chaînon, or the new transitional housing of the Old Brewery Mission. We will also be there to enhance support for community organizations working with vulnerable populations, such as street workers from Plein Milieu and The Open Door.

4. Do you commit to implementing adapted regulations allowing merchants to lightly occupy public property, in compliance with universal accessibility and under municipal supervision?

It is already possible to occupy public property to set up patios and gathering spaces (placottoirs) with a process that is increasingly running smoothly between the borough and participating merchants. Although we prefer to dedicate our limited efforts and resources to consolidating the animation of public property through commercial promotions and temporary or seasonal pedestrianization projects, we are open to discussing other forms of public property occupation with the SDCs that would contribute positively to street animation and the universal accessibility of public and private spaces.

5. If elected, what concrete measures do you plan to implement to simplify administrative processes related to permit issuance and to improve the support offered to entrepreneurs in Plateau-Mont-Royal?

We will set up a Bureau Accès Montréal dedicated to businesses in order to create a single, adapted communication channel for merchants. We understand that predictability is important in business, so we will improve communications ahead of construction sites to offer more predictability to merchants right from the planning phase of major works.

6. How do you envision your involvement within the Table de concertation des SDC du Plateau-Mont-Royal, along with your management team, to support the development of concrete and innovative projects?

The borough's economic development commissioner will continue to remain the administrative and operational point of contact for the Table de concertation des SDCs, but we would like to strengthen our ties with a formal participation of the borough mayor, the councillors responsible for the various SDCs, and the chief of staff's office on a bi-annual basis to review common issues and projects. In addition, we will hold ad-hoc thematic meetings as we did regarding funding, universal accessibility, or patios during the last mandate.

SDC LAURIER OUEST

7. Are you ready to support the rehabilitation and improvement of sidewalks on Laurier Street (Plateau sector)?

We intend to accelerate the repair of sidewalks, bike paths, and roadways across the entire borough with the goal of making travel safe and comfortable.

Although we favor integrated work to limit the proliferation of construction sites that hinder mobility in the neighborhood, the foot traffic attributable to the commercial character of Laurier Avenue West will be considered in prioritizing the sidewalks we plan to rehabilitate during the next mandate.

8. Are you ready to work with the SDC and citizens to find concrete solutions to compensate for the loss of parking spaces related to the installation of the bike path on Saint-Urbain Street?

The borough has redistributed a portion of the parking spaces reserved for residents to surrounding streets, intends to maintain the metered parking spaces located on Laurier Avenue West, and will review the maintenance schedules for Saint-Urbain Street to limit restriction periods to a minimum. If specific issues remain once the implementation of the new designs is complete, we will gladly work to refine the distribution of the parking supply in consultation with merchants and citizens who wish to do so.

We also commit to promoting the daily parking permit, which can be purchased at any parking terminal and allows visitors to park in a resident-only zone.

The addition of a reserved lane on Saint-Urbain and a safe cycling axis on Saint-Urbain Street can also represent an interesting opportunity to attract people who will use these new infrastructures. We will be able to add bicycle parking and support the SDC in taking advantage of this business opportunity.

9. Are you ready to financially support and promote flagship events like Mile-End en fête?

We will continue to support and promote the organization of events like Mile-End en fête to sustain this annual gathering, which provides an unparalleled showcase for Mile End businesses.

Common Questions

Yes.
Commercial streets constitute the most important collective space in the neighborhoods of Plateau-Mont-Royal: they are simultaneously places for meeting, movement, creation, and economic vitality. Within a complete-neighborhood and local-living approach, their dynamism is essential to the social and ecological transition of the borough.

Ensemble Montréal (city-centre) commits to maintaining municipal SDÉ support programs for Business Development Corporations (SDCs).
Our team wishes to enhance and improve assistance programs in the event of major works, in order to better support merchants and SDCs, while adapting them to new realities.
Furthermore, our local borough team intends to ensure funding stability to guarantee the continuity and effectiveness of this support and sit down with the SDCs.

In addition, our administration will increase the synergy of borough resources with the SDCs:

logistical support for seasonal storage of furniture and equipment;
optimization of local mobility, to facilitate servicing, deliveries, and the routes of citizens on foot, by bike, or using adapted transport.
Ensemble Montréal is committed to working with boroughs and SDCs for the promotion and dissemination of cultural leisure
Reinvestment of a portion of patio revenues into neighborhood cleaning and cleanliness;

These measures aim to give SDCs, and their members, the predictability and necessary resources to pursue their mission of animating and transforming commercial streets at the heart of neighborhood life.

2. If you are elected to the borough mayor's office, do you commit to implementing a concrete cleanliness and beautification plan, including the maintenance and improvement of sidewalks, alleys, street furniture, and public spaces?

Yes.
The quality of sidewalks, street furniture, and cleanliness is an issue of safety, accessibility, and collective dignity. In a borough as heavily visited as Plateau-Mont-Royal, every street must offer a welcoming and inclusive experience for residents, merchants, and visitors.

This plan will be part of an integrated public space management approach, coordinated with SDCs and municipal services, to pool resources, simplify interventions, and ensure transparent annual monitoring.

Our local team commits to implementing a structured and continuous cleanliness and beautification plan, focused on three priorities, which are on our platform:

Rehabilitation of sidewalks and improvement of universal accessibility, starting with the most problematic sectors like Laurier Street;
Strengthening of cleanliness and washing brigades, scaled throughout the year, ensuring a sustained presence on commercial streets while promoting social reintegration through employment and training;
Modernization of street furniture and active greening of commercial arteries, for more convivial, comfortable, and resilient spaces;
Ensemble Montréal wishes to prioritize the cleanliness of commercial arteries by creating a dedicated fund for establishing or enhancing cleanliness and safety squads in collaboration with partners, while adding blue-collar workers dedicated to street maintenance;
The appointment of a dedicated cleanliness official within the executive committee, who will be responsible for establishing a cleanliness standard city-wide in collaboration with all boroughs.
Noting that several vacant spaces are dilapidated and sometimes dangerous, our team commits to investing more in SDCs to revitalize these spaces and to strengthening maintenance obligations for the storefronts of vacant commercial properties, to foster vitality and a sense of security in our neighborhoods.
Furthermore, we want to ensure accessible and safe winter travel by prioritizing sidewalk snow removal to protect pedestrians and by doubling the funding for the snow removal program intended for people with reduced mobility.

3. If you are elected to the borough mayor's office, do you commit to strengthening and coordinating local initiatives regarding social cohabitation and homelessness, in collaboration with community organizations, institutional partners, and socioeconomic stakeholders, to support marginalized individuals while guaranteeing cleanliness and quality of life on our commercial arteries?

Our commitments are clear:

Triple the municipal homelessness budget to $30M per year, to support those on the ground who are exhausted.
Ensure that resources are available not only during the day, but 24/7, to prevent parks or commercial arteries from becoming improvised shelters.
And above all, guide organizations like The Open Door toward suitable premises near Saint-Laurent, because the issue is not just offering services, it's also doing so in spaces that are safe, sanitary, and humane.
We want to confront the crisis on the streets. To achieve this, we want to invest $120M during a first mandate, enhance the Rent Bank project, and create a housing bank for households left with no options on the day after July 1st.
Ensemble Montréal also commits to creating a matching fund for homelessness. In the same vein, an administration led by Soraya Martinez Ferrada will allocate a budget of $10M to it.

We want an approach that combines humanity and municipal responsibility: supporting marginalized individuals, yes, but also guaranteeing merchants and residents clean, safe, and welcoming arteries.

4. Do you commit to implementing adapted regulations that would allow merchants in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough to lightly occupy public property, in compliance with universal accessibility and under municipal supervision?

Yes, we commit to adapting the regulations to allow light occupation of public property by Plateau-Mont-Royal merchants, in a spirit of trust, proximity, and universal accessibility.

Our role should not be limited to enforcing rules: we want to act as facilitators rather than inspectors.

We will introduce adapted and evolving regulations, taking into account:

seasons, because street usage conditions in summer and winter are very different;
temporary layouts like summer pedestrianizations, where shifting the focus of traffic should allow a natural extension of businesses onto the street;
the quality of the pedestrian experience, by easing rules surrounding patios and light installations to rediscover the conviviality and lightness of European streets.

In parallel, we will improve cleanliness, safety, and surface conditions. Field teams won't be there to measure flower boxes, but to support merchants and strengthen the vitality of our arteries.

The Plateau is full of unique commercial streets; let's give them the resources to live up to their identity, by relying on creativity, proximity, and trust.

Make review fees, permit issuance, and rent free for setting up patios on the Plateau;
Dust off the bureaucracy and regulations surrounding patio design by leveraging artificial intelligence to ease processes;
Support merchants by deploying a low-cost professional service for the various architectural plans and specifications required for patios located across Montreal;
Improve the patio experience by multiplying cleanliness squads and deploying safety brigades, in collaboration with partners, while adding blue-collar workers dedicated to street maintenance.

5. If elected to the borough mayor's office, what concrete measures do you plan to implement to simplify administrative processes related to permit issuance and to improve the support offered to entrepreneurs in Plateau-Mont-Royal?

Yes. We have committed to simplifying permit issuance for residents and entrepreneurs. We commit to paying close attention to supporting independent businesses, so that the startup and opening periods are accelerated because they are essential to the uniqueness of our neighborhoods, and many are a source of pride for citizens. As a borough, we must contribute to the prosperity of our local businesses.

Facilitate the permit procurement process and lighten the administrative burden and paperwork imposed on merchants, by ensuring continuous follow-up of files within the urban planning department.
Ensure better coordination with merchants in project planning and deployment, by producing clear and concerted protocols on high-impact projects that could affect business vitality.
Support merchants by deploying a low-cost professional service for the various architectural plans and specifications required for patios located across Montreal;
Integrate artificial intelligence to automate and simplify certain stages in permit application analysis and improve processing speed, notably via the deployment of an online portal across all boroughs;

6. How do you envision your involvement within the Table de concertation des SDC du Plateau-Mont-Royal, along with your management team, to support the development of concrete and innovative projects for our commercial arteries?

The Table de concertation des SDCs du Plateau is a wonderful initiative by grassroots actors. We will be listening and present, participating through our directorates, and ensuring the presence of elected officials to stay well-informed of field realities and dynamics.

The borough mayor will regularly be the team's representative (approximately 4 times per year depending on the issues) at the Table de concertation des SDCs du Plateau-Mont-Royal, and a councillor will be able to sit on the boards of directors of the SDCs according to their governance model.
A project office will be formed for each innovative project, such as summer pedestrianizations for instance, led by a borough project manager who will involve the directorates based on the projects and their challenges.

SDC LAURIER OUEST

7. Are you ready to support the rehabilitation and improvement of sidewalks on Laurier Street (Plateau sector), to ensure safety, accessibility, and the quality of the customer experience?

Yes.
The exceptional vitality of Mile End streets — du Parc, Laurier, Saint-Viateur, Fairmount, Bernard, and Saint-Laurent Boulevard — relies on a unique ecosystem of lively arteries, local businesses, and citizen initiatives. Under the leadership of the SDC Laurier Ouest, this living environment has demonstrated its capacity to showcase culture, the local economy, and neighborhood life across Montreal.

In this continuity:

We will support flagship initiatives like Mile-End in Fête through access to $1.55M in funding (Montreal-wide) to sustain the maintenance and development of neighborhood festivals and events.
We will invest $3M to strengthen access to culture in every neighborhood of the metropolis, notably by supporting SDCs and boroughs.
We will set up a secretariat for "Montreal, Cultural Metropolis" within the first 100 days of an Ensemble Montréal administration, in collaboration with cultural sector partners and the governments of Quebec and Canada.
We will co-develop pilot projects that increase value-added autonomous revenues for festival-goers, while preserving free access.
We will create a philanthropic matching fund to support private donations and generate new revenue sources.
We will encourage the pooling of equipment and storage spaces for the sites.
We will facilitate the granting of permits for the occupation of public space by the SDC and its members.
We will plan the mobility of citizens, services, and goods during street closures related to the event.
We will support the innovative waste collection and recycling initiative led by the SDC.

8. Are you ready to work with the SDC and citizens to find concrete solutions to compensate for the loss of parking spaces related to the installation of the bike path on Saint-Urbain Street?

Yes.

A local merchant parking permit program will be introduced, in the form of a pilot project, to allow merchants to access resident parking zones between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. to ensure optimal travel.
Loading zones will be studied and implemented as pilot projects for evaluation with stakeholders, to ensure access to businesses for deliveries and quick purchases.
As currently exists in Outremont, paid parking zones for Laurier Ouest will be studied and implemented as pilot projects for evaluation with stakeholders.

9. Are you ready to financially support and promote flagship events like Mile-End en fête, which will celebrate its 4th edition in 2026, to support the commercial and cultural vitality of Laurier Street?

Yes.

The Mile End stands out for its exceptional commercial and cultural vitality. The unique synergy among its arteries – du Parc Avenue, Saint-Laurent Boulevard, Fairmount, Saint-Viateur, Bernard, and Laurier Ouest streets – makes it one of the most dynamic living environments in Montreal. Mile-End en fête, which will reach its 4th edition in 2026, plays a key role in highlighting this remarkable assembly of shopping streets and creative communities.

That is why:

We will support flagship initiatives like Mile-End en fête or the MURAL festival through access to $1.55M in funding (Montreal-wide) to support the maintenance and development of neighborhood festivals and events.
We will invest $3M to strengthen access to culture in every neighborhood of the metropolis, notably by supporting SDCs and boroughs, including those of Mile End and Laurier Avenue West.
Within the first 100 days of an Ensemble Montréal administration, we will establish a secretariat for "Montreal, Cultural Metropolis," in collaboration with partners from the cultural sector as well as provincial and federal governments.
We will co-develop pilot projects to increase value-added autonomous revenues for events, while preserving free access for citizens.
We will create a philanthropic matching fund to support private donations and stimulate new sources of funding.
We will encourage the pooling of equipment and storage spaces for events and festivals in the sector.
We will facilitate the granting of permits for the occupation of spaces by the SDC and its members, notably on Laurier Ouest and in the heart of Mile End.
We will plan the mobility of citizens, services, and goods during closure periods to preserve accessibility and the quality of the experience across the entire sector.
We will support innovative waste collection and recycling initiatives already put forward by the SDC, so that events remain exemplary from an environmental perspective.

Mile-End en fête is much more than an event: it is a showcase of what Montreal does best when it bets on local culture, creativity, and collaboration with its historic commercial arteries.

Common Questions

Yes, myself and the Transition Montréal team know the importance of having a vigorous economy, with abundant local businesses, recreational spaces, as well as local arts, cultures, and festivals, because all of this directly impacts the quality of life of Plateau residents, not just visitors.

It is therefore paramount for us to:

Tackle the issue of vacant storefronts, often caused by excessively high rent costs;
Protect iconic nightlife spaces, while encouraging the emergence of new initiatives;
Preserve the cultural and commercial fabric that contributes to the unique charm of Plateau-Mont-Royal and is essential for the daily life of residents.

Transition Montréal proposes the creation of the Infra-MTL service, a municipal squad dedicated to public works (sidewalks, speed bumps, sidewalk extensions, paving, etc.). By bringing these construction sites back in-house — meaning within the public sector — the City will be able to reduce its dependence on the private sector, better plan its work, and accelerate execution, rather than waiting for calls for tenders that are delayed or prove excessively costly. The priority is to have streets and sidewalks in good condition, a job well done for a cheaper price, completed as quickly as possible, and with good communication with those affected.

For businesses, this means shorter-duration construction sites and reduced inaccessibility time.

The issue of culture and accessibility is central to the Plateau, particularly regarding the vitality of nightlife, where the quality and safety of public infrastructure play a decisive role. Beautification is a priority too, but always while considering the minimization of gentrification in the neighborhood.

Yes, I wish to act in a way centered on dignity, prevention, and effectiveness. We want to triple funding for the community sector, since these organizations are already on the ground, present long-term, and know the various stakeholders involved well. This investment will strengthen prevention and offer better social services to people experiencing homelessness.

We also want to invest to tackle root causes, by offering better social safety nets and more non-profit housing. Furthermore, we wish to reduce budget waste in the SPVM — notably overtime expenses, which reached 40 million in 2023 — and reinvest these amounts into the community. By addressing root problems, we make our communities safer and more supportive.

Finally, Transition Montréal proposes the creation of a civil crisis response service, composed of health and social services professionals, available 24/7, capable of responding directly to non-criminal emergency calls.

We agree that local residents and the public of Plateau-Mont-Royal should be able to occupy public property for certain activities, signs, and tables, for example. We will work in collaboration with the SDCs to identify their concrete needs and determine how to offer them appropriate space.

Yes, I wish to support merchants so they remain competitive, notably by encouraging patio cost-savings and local commerce, through two main approaches:

Acquisition of commercial spaces for non-profits and small businesses: we want to preserve quality of life by removing certain spaces from the commercial real estate market, providing funds to the SHDM, which already operates in the residential sector, and expanding its mandate to the leisure and commercial sectors.
We want to encourage landlords to temporarily rent their premises to emerging businesses or non-profits via "pop-up" leases. Furthermore, we propose creating a sub-category for small street-level businesses, made possible by Bill 39, in order to apply a tax rate lower than that of big-box stores. We also propose taxing vacant commercial properties after a certain period to reduce empty storefronts and boost local business.

My team and I wish to work hand in hand with the SDC table de concertation to protect the charm and quality of life on the Plateau. It is essential for us that local businesses can survive gentrification and ensure succession. My team and I are motivated to attend meetings of the various community tables, upon invitation of course, to provide active listening.

This directly affects the quality of life of residents and contributes to the unique character of the Plateau, with its small businesses and vibrant artistic community.

We also have the support of the borough councillor candidate for Jeanne-Mance, Vincent Stephen-Ong, himself a musician, who commits to protecting the nightlife, the artistic community, and local Plateau festivals, aspects that are currently threatened by the closure of several businesses and cultural venues.

SDC LAURIER OUEST

7. Are you ready to support the rehabilitation and improvement of sidewalks on Laurier Street (Plateau sector), to ensure safety, accessibility, and the quality of the customer experience?

Yes, it's been a few years since I realized that the condition of the sidewalks on Laurier Avenue is problematic: they are crooked, cracked, and narrow, and some slabs around the trees are sunken by at least an inch into the ground. This is a major accessibility issue.

Transition Montréal proposes the creation of the Infra-MTL service, a municipal squad that will take a portion of public works back in-house: sidewalks, speed bumps, sidewalk extensions, paving, etc.

By bringing these construction sites back into the public sector, the City will be able to:

reduce its dependence on the private sector (less waiting for bids, more control over the budget, and fewer construction sites blocked indefinitely);
better plan its work;
accelerate execution;
Reduce business inaccessibility time during urban works or developments to minimize the impact on their activity.

The Plateau team will establish a list of priorities, and Laurier Avenue is considered a priority since it connects several major streets starting from the Laurier metro station. This directly impacts public transit accessibility for the Mile End.

8. Are you ready to work with the SDC and citizens to find concrete solutions to compensate for the loss of parking spaces related to the installation of the bike path on Saint-Urbain Street?

We are ready to work with the SDC and neighborhood residents to listen to the solutions they propose regarding the parking situation. Concerning the bike path, we are open to installing bicycle parking and implementing other measures to allow cyclists to easily reach businesses located around Saint-Urbain Street.

Yes, we intend to review the criteria for accessing municipal grants to better balance and support emerging events, festivals, and presentation venues. The Transition Montréal administration commits to giving more funding to small independent festivals.

We will also examine how to concretely support Plateau initiatives, like Mile-End en fête, to strengthen the cultural and community vitality of the neighborhood.

Municipal Elections 2025 – The Plateau-Mont-Royal SDCs

Common Questions

SDC LAURIER OUEST

Common Questions

SDC LAURIER OUEST

Common Questions

SDC LAURIER OUEST