Montreal’s 375th fête is over. Was it good for you?
This time a year ago, skeptical Montrealers had a lot of questions about the year of 375th birthday celebrations ahead.
Why are we even marking our 375th?
Why are we spending all this money?
What’s the point?
There was certainly a lot of harrumphing as 2017 dawned.
So after a year-long seduction effort of light shows and operas, streets turned into open-air museums and open-air concerts, giant puppets roaming the streets and illuminated bridges, it’s time to ask the question: were Montrealers wooed by the nonstop party?
The answer is perhaps more complicated than a simple thumbs up or thumbs down.
It depends whom you ask and what they were hoping to get out of it.
And it may be useful to draw a line between the events portion of the festivities, which were put on by the arms-length Société des célébrations du 375e de Montréal, and the orgy of spending by three levels of government that slapped a birthday label on all manner of projects.
In a recent editorial board meeting with the Montreal Gazette, the organizing committee in charge of the events said it was “mission accomplished.” Société du 375e president France Chrétien Desmarais and general manager Alain Gignac said 1.8 million people participated — roughly the population of Montreal, although some were certainly repeat customers or tourists — and 96 per cent told consumer researchers they enjoyed the events.
There was something for everyone, from community gatherings in the parks of each borough to electro-pop street raves. And there were momentous moments like the raising of the new city flag that finally recognizes Montreal’s Indigenous Peoples.
“I think Montrealers needed that,” said Chrétien Desmarais. “It was a big pill of happiness. It’s a moment where people were saying ‘we’re big again.’ ”
She acknowledged it wasn’t just the 375th extravaganza, but rather a “convergence” of factors that created the convivial mood, like Montreal (and Quebec’s) booming economy and record employment rate. Though it was years in the planning, the 375th birthday bash arrived fortuitously at a moment when Montrealers finally felt they had a lot to celebrate. We came, we partied, we enjoyed ourselves.
But that sense of exuberance did not mean we were willing to turn a blind eye to all manner of excess in the name of a remarkable year.
A Radio-Canada analysis found that, all told, $1 billion was spent by Montreal, Quebec and Canada to mark the city’s 375th, when you factor in infrastructure, events and legacy projects — a sum that should make our eyes pop like so many Champagne corks. Perhaps it seems rather ungrateful, but Montrealers are endowed with a healthy amount of common sense.
If former mayor Denis Coderre expected to ride the wave of optimism sweeping the city to a second term in 2017, he was sorely mistaken. The reaction to the $3.5 million the city spent to put decorative granite tree stumps all over Mount Royal should perhaps have been a harbinger of the volatile public mood Coderre faced over some of his decisions.
Similarly, the razing of 1,000 mature trees to make way for an open-air amphitheatre for Evenko as part of an overhaul of Parc Jean-Drapeau for the 375th and the controversial ePrix electric car race through eastern downtown — which was not officially linked to the festivities, but turned out to be one event too many — stoked a slow-burning fury that Coderre was out of touch with Montrealers’ priorities. And he paid the price in the November vote.
The total bill for the special events portion will be known in the coming months when an audit of the Société du 375e operations — a non-profit agency — is made public. In early December Gignac and Chrétien Desmarais hinted there could be a little left over ($7 million, they estimated) to give back to Montrealers — although they suggested talks were underway to use it to give the city one last surprise.
But that “savings” from the special events, if we get it and if we can call it that, is a tiny drop in the bucket from a much larger spending spree that got a wee bit out of hand. Like a lavish wedding, extravagant surprise party or torrid romance, what was fun while it lasted might not be worth it in the long run. It’s like realizing your nuptials would have been just as pleasing without the horse-drawn carriage, live band and tower of martini glasses. That’s not to say we shouldn’t have done it at all, but it might have been just as meaningful had a little restraint been shown along the way.
Sure, we’ll take away some fond memories, remember this year as a turning point in Montreal’s cultural, economic and political history, and take advantage of some of the legacy gifts we now have to enjoy, whether we wanted them or not. But like any good time that comes to an inevitable end, at a certain point, it’s a relief to return to normal life. After we nurse our hangover, that is.