The Table de concertation of the Sociétés de développement commercial (SDCs) of Plateau-Mont-Royal — SDBSL (boulevard Saint-Laurent), SDAMR (avenue du Mont-Royal), SDC Laurier, and SDC Saint-Denis — invited the three candidates running for mayor of the borough to respond to a series of questions.
The discussion took place at Connections by Ralia, located at 4281, Saint-Laurent Blvd.
Candidates:
Jean Beaudoin, Ensemble Montréal (EM) • Cathy Wong, Projet Montréal (PM) • Maggie Bolduc, Transition Montréal (TM)
Parties are listed in alphabetical order: EM, PM, TM.
Spotlight: Questions Related to boulevard Saint-Laurent (SDBSL)
(These questions address nightlife vitality, culture, and reoccupation of vacant spaces along “the Main.”)
1) If elected, are you ready to actively support the recognition of boulevard Saint-Laurent as a nightlife hub, accompanied by concrete measures regarding safety, cleanliness, and urban design?
EM (Jean Beaudoin)
We recognize the value of boulevard Saint-Laurent as the beating heart of Montréal’s nightlife. We aim to strengthen collaboration between merchants, residents, and the borough to ensure a balanced management of economic vitality and neighborhood tranquility. Our administration will commit to improving nighttime cleanliness and safety through increased on-the-ground presence and better coordination with municipal services.
PM (Cathy Wong)
We will actively support the designation of boulevard Saint-Laurent as a nightlife hub by offering greater predictability to participating nighttime venues. We also intend to maintain and strengthen the excellent work of the Night Watchers team, which enhances safety and promotes harmonious nighttime cohabitation with residents. Moreover, the City’s commitment to 24/7 cleaning brigades will help ensure cleanliness around the clock.
TM (Maggie Bolduc)
We fully support recognizing boulevard Saint-Laurent as a nightlife hub, provided this vitality develops in a sustainable and resident-respectful manner. We believe nightlife and culture should be inclusive and safe for everyone. We will work with the SDC and community organizations to integrate awareness and harm-reduction initiatives.
2) Are you ready to support and promote flagship initiatives such as the MURAL Festival, soon celebrating its 14th edition, to strengthen the cultural and economic reach of boulevard Saint-Laurent?
EM
The MURAL Festival is an extraordinary showcase for Montréal. We intend to offer it renewed and predictable support while improving logistics for merchants and residents during the event. Ensemble Montréal believes in the power of cultural partnerships to energize our commercial arteries and attract new visitors.
PM
MURAL is an iconic festival that we are proud to keep in the neighborhood. We have supported it since the very beginning and will continue to do so while ensuring the area’s capacity to welcome large crowds remains sustainable.
TM
We will support initiatives like MURAL, provided they follow an eco-responsible and participatory framework. We believe in democratizing urban art and want to involve more local community members and emerging neighborhood artists in festival activities.
3) Are you ready to work with the SDBSL and economic actors to reduce office space vacancy and encourage reoccupation of those spaces, in order to sustain the vitality and diversity of the Main?
EM
Commercial and office vacancy along the Main is a major issue. We will propose a coordinated action plan between the City, SDBSL, and property owners to facilitate the reconversion of vacant spaces, reduce bureaucracy, and encourage creative and entrepreneurial projects. The goal: bring every floor of the boulevard back to life.
PM
Absolutely. We are always ready to work with the SDBSL and economic actors to reduce office space vacancy and stimulate reoccupation. Projet Montréal has already committed to offering financial and regulatory incentives — such as waiving permit fees for property owners converting vacant spaces into artist studios — to strengthen the creative ecosystem. This kind of initiative can help reduce vacancy and reinforce the Main’s cultural and creative identity.
TM
We support reoccupation by prioritizing socially and culturally meaningful projects: artist studios, community spaces, collective initiatives. Reuse of spaces should serve the neighborhood’s real needs, not just economic logic.
Common Questions from All SDCs of the Plateau-Mont-Royal
1) Financial Support for the SDCs of Plateau-Mont-Royal
Do you commit to maintaining and strengthening the borough’s financial support to the SDCs, in addition to the City of Montréal’s SDC Support Program, in order to ensure stability and sustainability for their structural projects, which already rely on annual investments of nearly $2.5M from their member merchants?
EM
Yes.Commercial streets are the most vital shared spaces in Plateau-Mont-Royal neighborhoods: they are places of gathering, movement, creativity, and economic vitality. Within a vision of complete neighborhoods and proximity life, their dynamism is essential to the borough’s social and ecological transition.
• Ensemble Montréal (central city) commits to maintaining municipal SDE support programs for SDCs.
• Our team will improve and expand aid programs during major construction work to better support merchants and SDCs, adapting them to current realities.
• Our local borough team will ensure stable funding to guarantee the continuity and efficiency of this support while engaging directly with SDCs.
We will also better align borough resources with SDCs through:
• logistical support for seasonal furniture and equipment storage;
• improved local mobility for deliveries and pedestrian, cycling, or adapted-transport access;
• promotion of cultural recreation through SDC partnerships;
• reinvestment of a portion of terrace fees into neighborhood cleaning and maintenance.
These measures will give SDCs and their members the predictability and tools they need to pursue their mission of animating and transforming our commercial streets — the lifeblood of local neighborhoods.
PM
Yes, we are committed to maintaining and strengthening financial support for the SDCs of Plateau-Mont-Royal. We recognize their essential role in the borough’s economic, cultural, and social vitality.
Our administration has always stood by the SDCs and will continue to do so by ensuring predictable funding and a transparent, dialogue-based partnership.
We will keep supporting structural and innovative projects such as cleaning brigades, beautification efforts, safety and lighting initiatives, and events that bring life to our commercial arteries.
TM
Yes. Maintaining — and even strengthening — this support is essential, since SDCs directly drive the borough’s vitality.
Transition Montréal commits to reviewing SDC funding to make it more stable and better suited to their needs, while encouraging resource sharing among SDCs to optimize local impact.
We advocate for a participatory, collaborative approach where the borough works hand-in-hand with SDCs, recognizing their on-the-ground expertise.
2) Cleanliness, Sidewalks, and Urban Furniture
If elected, will you implement a concrete plan for cleanliness and beautification, including maintenance and improvement of sidewalks, alleyways, street furniture, and public space?
EM
Yes. Clean, accessible, and well-maintained streets are key to safety, dignity, and neighborhood pride. In a borough as busy as Plateau-Mont-Royal, every street should provide a welcoming experience for residents, merchants, and visitors.
Our plan will take an integrated approach to managing public space — coordinated with SDCs and municipal services — to pool resources, streamline interventions, and ensure transparent annual reporting.
Our borough team will implement a structured and ongoing plan for cleanliness and beautification, focused on three priorities:
• Repairing sidewalks and improving universal accessibility, starting with problem areas like Laurier Street;
• Strengthening cleaning brigades and watering teams, ensuring steady presence and creating social reintegration opportunities through employment;
• Modernizing urban furniture and increasing greenery to make streets more pleasant, comfortable, and resilient.
• Ensemble Montréal will prioritize cleaning on commercial arteries through a dedicated fund for cleaning and safety brigades, while adding more blue-collar staff for street maintenance.
• A borough-wide Cleanliness Officer will be appointed within the Executive Committee to establish citywide standards in collaboration with all boroughs.
• We will invest in façade upkeep for vacant or derelict buildings and reinvest part of terrace revenues into neighborhood cleaning.
• We also plan to double funding for sidewalk snow removal to ensure accessible winter travel for people with reduced mobility.
PM
We already implemented a concrete cleaning plan with a $1 M fund over three years. This plan ensures proactive removal of illegal dumps, penalties for repeat offenders, and improved maintenance of sidewalks, bike paths, and roadways to keep public travel safe and pleasant.
We will continue to keep more benches accessible during winter with manual snow removal. Cleanliness is central to the urban experience, and we will keep investing in it structurally and sustainably.
TM
Yes. Cleanliness and maintenance are shared responsibilities between the City and its residents.
We will create a coordinated action plan inspired by best practices from other boroughs — including participatory alleyway cleanups, regular furniture upkeep, and transparent reporting.
We also plan to invest in sidewalk greening projects to enhance beauty, improve quality of life, and promote environmental resilience.
3) Social Cohabitation and Homelessness
If elected, will you strengthen and coordinate local initiatives around social cohabitation and homelessness, working with community organizations, institutions, and socio-economic actors to support marginalized people while maintaining cleanliness and quality of life on our commercial arteries?
EM
Our commitments are clear:
• Triple the municipal homelessness budget to $30 M annually to better support exhausted front-line organizations.
• Ensure 24/7 access to resources so parks and commercial streets do not become makeshift shelters.
• Relocate organizations such as Open Door into appropriate, safe, and sanitary facilities near Saint-Laurent.
• Over a first mandate, we will invest $120 M to expand the Rent Support Bank and create a housing bank for households left without options after July 1.
• Ensemble Montréal will also establish a $10 M homelessness matching fund to increase collaboration and leverage.
Our goal: combine compassion with civic responsibility — supporting vulnerable populations while keeping commercial arteries clean, safe, and welcoming for all.
PM
We will continue supporting housing projects that prevent homelessness and help those in severe precarity.
We have already backed initiatives like the Projet Autochtone Québec shelter, the expansion of Le Chaînon, and transitional housing with the Old Brewery Mission.
We will also enhance support for community organizations like Plein Milieu and Open Door, which work directly with vulnerable people on our main streets.
Our approach emphasizes collaboration, dignity, and safety for all.
TM
Transition Montréal will strengthen coordination between the City, community organizations, and merchants to support people experiencing homelessness while maintaining safety and cleanliness.
We will establish a local crisis unit with a dedicated budget to ensure quick, coherent interventions.
We believe that better coordination among SDCs, economic players, and social actors will foster a more humane, sustainable cohabitation.
4) Light Occupation of Public Space
Do you commit to implementing adapted regulations that would allow merchants in the borough to lightly occupy public space, in accordance with universal accessibility and municipal guidelines?
EM
Yes, we commit to adjusting regulations to allow light, creative, and accessible occupation of public space by merchants, based on trust and proximity.
We aim to act as facilitators rather than inspectors, adapting rules to seasonal conditions, pedestrian experience, and temporary initiatives like summer pedestrian zones.
We also plan to improve cleanliness, safety, and surface quality. Field teams will accompany merchants instead of focusing on measurements or fines.
• Waive study and permit fees and rents for terrace installations;
• Simplify terrace regulation using AI tools;
• Provide affordable professional design assistance for merchants;
• Multiply cleaning and safety brigades across commercial streets.
PM
Merchants can already occupy public space for terraces and “placottoirs,” and we are continuously improving this process.
We prioritize projects that animate public space, foster social connection, and ensure universal accessibility.
We remain open to discussing new forms of occupation that positively contribute to neighborhood life and commercial vitality.
TM
Yes. We believe merchants should be able to creatively and responsibly use the immediate public space in front of their storefronts.
Transition Montréal will simplify authorization procedures, create experimentation zones, and encourage small-scale or seasonal uses (kiosks, mini-terraces, green installations) while maintaining fairness among commercial arteries.
5) Administrative Simplification and Permits
If elected, what concrete measures would you implement to simplify administrative processes related to permits and improve support for entrepreneurs in Plateau-Mont-Royal?
EM
Yes. We are committed to simplifying the permit process for residents and entrepreneurs and to better supporting independent businesses to speed up their launches and strengthen local identity.
• Streamline permit procedures and reduce paperwork, with continuous case tracking at the urban planning department;
• Improve coordination with merchants by producing clear, co-designed protocols for projects impacting business vitality;
• Offer affordable professional design assistance for required terrace plans and architectural layouts;
• Use AI to automate and accelerate permit analysis through a unified online portal for all boroughs.
PM
We will create a Bureau Accès Montréal dedicated to businesses to centralize and simplify administrative processes.
We also plan to improve communication around construction projects to offer more predictability to merchants.
Our goal is to deliver a more human, transparent, and responsive accompaniment throughout the entrepreneurial journey.
TM
Transition Montréal wants to end administrative red tape by digitizing most processes and creating a one-stop shop for merchants.
We will train specialized liaison officers to quickly address local business needs and accelerate application timelines.
Our vision: an accessible administration that truly serves small businesses and local creators.
6) Involvement in the SDC Coordination Table
How do you plan to engage with the Table de concertation of the Plateau-Mont-Royal SDCs, along with your executive team, to support the development of concrete and innovative projects for our commercial arteries?
EM
The SDC Coordination Table is a great grassroots initiative. We will remain attentive and present — with elected officials and management attending regularly to stay connected to on-the-ground realities.
• The borough mayor will represent the team at least four times a year, depending on priorities, while other councillors may sit on SDC boards according to their governance models;
• A dedicated project office will be created for each major initiative — such as summer pedestrian zones — led by a borough project manager coordinating across departments.
PM
The SDC Table is a valuable tool for dialogue and collaboration.
We intend to strengthen its impact by formally involving the borough mayor, councillors responsible for each SDC, and the executive cabinet.
We also plan to hold thematic meetings on shared issues like mobility, accessibility, and funding.
TM
We believe this Table is key to participatory and collaborative governance.
Transition Montréal will actively participate and support the structuring projects that emerge from it by ensuring clear follow-up and accountability.
We aim to make this body a true driver of collective transformation for our commercial arteries.
