This is Montreal

Between the West Island and the South Shore and stretching all the way from Ile-Perrot to Lachine, you'll find Lac Saint-Louis. But is it a lake? Is it just part of the Saint Lawrence River? Or is it both? The answer is more complex than you might think.

We head to the Montreal Climate Summit to hear how environmental advocates are trying to reshape their message about climate change, to emphasize how it’s hurting the health, homes and finances of Montrealers.

With the city's summer festival season around the corner, Montreal's festivals are in fundraising mode. But post-pandemic, and faced with rising production costs, some say independent festivals need more support to keep going--and to keep Montreal's reputation as a world-class city for arts and culture alive. 

With the cost of groceries on the rise, more Canadians are turning to food banks to feed themselves. In this episode, as we approach the end of the federal election campaign we look at why food has gotten so expensive and what solutions are being proposed to make grocery shopping more affordable. 

From the cost of buying a home, to the climate changes hitting North America, many of the top issues for voters are also top of mind for young people, and central to their futures. So why do young people show up to the polls in fewer numbers than other generations, and what can be done to get more of them to cast their ballot? 

In the shadow of U.S. tariffs, reviving pipeline projects has been up for discussion in this federal election campaign, even in Quebec, where opposition has been strong in the past. So how did Montreal go from the city where half a million people marched for climate action, to a place where the environment seems barely on the ballot?

Montreal rents are rising sharply. The median price of a single family home has more than doubled in a decade. So what can the next federal government do to get housing built more quickly?

Usually, it might be Quebec sovereignty that’s on the table come election time. But this time around, with U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs and annexation, some Quebec voters, like those in the rest of Canada, have Canadian sovereignty on their minds. We’ll look at what that might mean for the electoral map in Quebec.

Those white plastic temporary car shelters — known as tempos — pop up in driveways in many Montreal driveways each winter. Those who love ‘em say they save the time and hassle of digging out their cars after a snowstorm. Those who hate ‘em say they’re an eyesore at best and a potential hazard at worst. We’ll hear how they became a Quebec winter phenomenon and why, more than fifty years after they...

For some it was the choppy sound of a video call. For others, it was tuning into the daily news briefings. For others still, it was the voice of a patient saying goodbye to loved ones who couldn’t be with them in their final hour. Five years after Quebec declared a public health emergency over COVID-19, five Montrealers reflect on what they remember most about the early days of the pandemic and ho...

Many Montreal families may be heading off-island to hit the ski slopes for March break this week. But throughout most of the 20th century, you could find downhill ski runs on and around Mount Royal, complete with tow ropes, T-bars and even a 100-ft long ski jump! We'll hear why downhill skiing disappeared from the heart of Montreal, and why not everyone agrees over whether it should come back.

To shake off those winter blues, we’re bringing you one of our favourite episodes from the archives. We follow an urban explorer who has walked nearly every alleyway in Montreal and hear how alleys helped shape the development of and the social life of many Montreal neighbourhoods.

When Montreal gets walloped with snow like it just did, it takes days to get the streets and sidewalks cleared. A century ago some streets just didn’t get cleared at all. From horse-drawn plows to the snowblowers, plows and trucks we use today, we’ll look at how snow clearing has evolved in Montreal. And we’ll hear from some Montreal researchers who are working to design the snow removal of the fu...

As of this month, if you buy an electric car in Quebec, you’ll be paying for it entirely out of your own pocket. The federal rebate program for electric vehicles has ended early and the Quebec program is on pause until April, before being phased out in 2027. Both Quebec and Canada have goals to eliminate the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035. But with less subsidy money on th...

Every year Quebec’s housing tribunal, known in French as the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL), releases a set of calculations to help landlords and tenants figure out how much rent should increase. This year it recommended 5.9 per cent for an unheated apartment — the largest increase in at least 30 years. So how does the TAL come up with this number? We’ll look at how the rental increase f...

In October, the Education Ministry published a report alleging that a group of teachers at an elementary school in Côte-des-Neiges had for years created a toxic atmosphere. That led to a series of investigations into other schools. In the wake of those events, about 30 Montrealers gathered at the Maison des Jeunes in Côte-des-Neiges, for a conversation with CBC host Nantali Indongo about the state...

New York has become the latest city to implement congestion charges, as a way to try to curb its traffic problem. Some Montrealers think it’s the solution to gridlock here, while others are concerned about it becoming a financial burden for drivers who don’t have many other options. We’ll look at how congestion pricing works and hear whether it’s on the radar of policymakers in Montreal.

When one Montrealer left an abusive partner, the financial strain of paying her ever-rising rent brought her to a breaking point. But thanks to a new long-term housing project for women and their children run by a women’s shelter, she feels like she can finally breathe. We’ll hear how, in the midst of a housing affordability crisis, Montreal women’s shelters are taking matters into their own hands...

If you’ve taken the metro in Montreal you may have found yourself throwing a shoulder into the rotating doors at some stations and getting a blast of wind in the face for your efforts, especially in winter. We’ll get into the science behind why it seems like you often need herculean strength to pry the doors open and we'll hear what the STM is doing to make metro stations more accessible.

This is Montreal off this week, so we're bringing you an episode of the podcast This is Ottawa. At the Canadian War Museum, you can find an imposing black armoured car that once belonged to none other than Adolf Hitler. Host Robyn Bresnahan looks at how the car ended up in Ottawa after a stop in Montreal, and how the museum balances public interest with critics who say it “glamourizes Nazism.”

Some Montrealers are looking for the perfect gift for someone on their list, but it won't be brand new with the tags still on. It will be from the thrift shop. Whether it's economic or environmental concerns or just the thrill of the hunt, we'll hear what's driving interest in thrifting and why one expert cautions that thrifting alone won't solve overconsumption.

As the cost of food has risen, more Montrealers have been relying on food banks. But for some people with dietary restrictions, it can be a challenge to find food that they can eat that won’t make them sick. We’ll hear about the obstacles Montreal food banks face in meeting specific dietary needs and why many advocates are calling for more financial support from governments.

With the second season of the Professional Women’s Hockey League underway, many Montreal-area women and girls are lacing up their skates and hitting the ice themselves. We’ll hear what La Victoire means for future generations of hockey players, and to the generations who have seen the evolution of women’s hockey in the city.

Quebec sends about three quarters of its international exports to the United States — twice as much as the province imports from south of the border. With the news that U.S. president-elect Donald Trump is threatening tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican imports, we’ll hear how Quebec’s business sector is bracing itself for what’s to come.

The temperatures are dropping and snow is on its way, but it’s not stopping some Montrealers from gearing up for the winter biking season. While winter cyclists are still only a fraction of the total bike riding population, they represent a growing group of commuters. We’ll hear what’s driving people to keep pedaling year-round and why one borough has even decided to subsidize 100 people to give w...