Downtown Montreal merchants sound alarm over safety, financial security

By News Staff, By News Staff, Last Updated September 8, 2025 5:01 pm.

Officials from Quebec's merchants' association, the Société de développement commercial (SDC), for downtown Montreal are worrying about safety in the economic heart of the city.
“We need to act fast before we become the next Vancouver or the next San Francisco,” said Glenn Castanheira, Executive Director of SDC downtown Montreal.

They point to a recent 2024 survey that polled close to 1,000 respondents that revealed that 74 per cent of workers in downtown Montreal say they have noticed a deterioration in safety on public transit.
Another study, conducted by Léger at the end of 2024, showed that 78 per cent of downtown Montrealers felt little or no sense of security around their workplace due to an increase in “drug addiction, homelessness and mental health issues.”
The city should look to deploy more boots on the ground, Castanheira said, to address issues related to safety. He added that police “do not feel supported by the political class.”
“Let's start by supporting our police officers and ensuring that we get foot patrols and that they get the backing they need to make these arrests,” he said Monday.
The SDC also warns of financial consequences. Ahead of the city preparing to release its new property assessment roll and facing an anticipated $417-million deficit, commercial buildings in Montreal's downtown core 15 per cent of their property values ​​in 2025 alone.
“We are in the middle of what could be one of the largest financial prices for the city of Montreal, should the issue persist,” Castanheira told reporters in a press scrum Monday, adding that these numbers should raise red flags all candidates involved in the city's fall mayoral election.

“So rather than promising new libraries, new roads, new bike paths, it doesn't matter,” he said. “Any promise that the candidates want to announce, none of it is possible without the funding of the downtown core.”
Downtown Montreal alone generates 23 per cent of the city's revenues, about $1.6 billion annually.
Castanheira pointed to 1000 De la Gauchetière, where a 15 per cent decrease in value could mean a $2-million annual loss for city finances.
“There are 1.6 billion good reasons to act quickly to reverse these trends. Montreal's economic health and public finances depend directly on the vitality and security of the downtown core,” said Castanheira. “With the election just days away, candidates must speak out quickly to ensure leadership on these issues. Because no election promise can be fulfilled without the financial stability that the downtown core provides.”

Mayoral candidates react
Soraya Martinez Ferrada, mayoral candidate and leader of Ensemble Montréal, tells CityNews in a statement that the trend, as outlined by Downtown Montreal merchants, is very “worrying” and blames the current administration.
“Like many neighborhoods, the downtown core has been abandoned by Projet Montréal, and this will certainly harm our reputation as a tourist and business destination. In recent weeks, I've announced several measures regarding cleanliness and safety that will rekindle Montrealers' desire to enjoy their downtown.”
Projet Montréal did not respond to our request for comment.
Meanwhile, Craig Sauvé, mayoral candidate and leader of Transition Montréal, said his party has a plan to address some of the issues raised by the SDC of downtown Montreal.
“The feelings of insecurity are real and they go across the board, so we recognize this,” he said. “The first thing we announced in this campaign was a plan to tax the ultra-rich — that's single family dwellings or luxury condos worth 3.5 million or more — and take all of that money and invest it into solutions for helping people in situations of homelessness.”
Sauvé added: “I believe that every neighborhood is important and the downtown core is also important. We're not living in the same reality of brick and mortar stores in the 1950s, so I think that in order to create a more dynamic downtown, it passes by having interesting spaces, a diversity of different businesses and we have to use techniques that are going to multiply the amount of small businesses because those are what bring the really independent, interesting and unique culture to our commercial streets.”

Jean-François Kacou, the leader of Montreal and a mayoral candidate, said that downtown Montreal is deteriorating.
“No resident should ever feel unsafe walking our streets. Yet today, too many Montrealers, Quebecers from outside the city, and visitors see the core as unsafe,” he said in a statement. “If people begin to avoid downtown, merchants will close, businesses will leave, and our city will slide into chaos.”
Futur Montréal says they are committed to a zero-tolerance policy against violence and drug-related activities in the downtown core.
“While the SPVM already has specialized units working on organized crime and narcotics, we will collaborate with them to activate and finance a dedicated 'Zero Tolerance' downtown squad focused specifically on the streets and parks of the core,” Kacou said.
“We will also increase police visibility on the ground, reduce response times, and expand the use of surveillance cameras in strategic locations. Breaking up extortion networks will be made a top priority, and Futur Montréal will work with SDC Centre-Ville to boost funding for its security brigade so they can support SPVM with dedicated patrols and intelligence.”