MONTREAL — Montreal is bracing for a transit strike that could severely disrupt bus and metro service starting Monday.
Service will be reduced or eliminated outside peak hours for several days between June 9 and 17 if a planned maintenance workers' strike goes ahead.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said this week that the labour dispute is one symptom of a larger struggle to find sufficient funding for transit agencies. Earlier this year, she criticized the Quebec government for not spending enough on public transit in its latest budget.
“Though we want to offer good conditions to all workers… there’s a dark cloud on top of us regarding how we share the financial aspect of public transport,” she told reporters.
“I’m hoping that there will be a fast solution to this conflict… because citizens deserve to have transportation they can count on.”
The Montreal transit agency's 2,400 maintenance workers have been in negotiations for more than a year. Since the fall, the union has met with management 75 times.
The union has raised several points of contention, including the use of subcontracting and the creation of atypical schedules on evenings, nights and weekends.
The transit agency says it needs to subcontract some maintenance work and cut overtime hours due to its current financial situation.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the transit agency said meetings “are scheduled to take place regularly over the coming days and weeks,” and the agency has offered a facilitator to help “accelerate the pace of discussions.”
If the strike takes place as planned, bus and metro service will only be offered during the morning and evening rush hour and late at night from Monday to Wednesday next week.
Regular service will be maintained during the Canadian Grand Prix, which takes place in Montreal next Friday to Sunday. But service outside peak hours will be cut in half on the Thursday before and the Monday and Tuesday following the Formula One event.
The transit agency is advising people to walk, bike or work from home if possible. But Philippe Jacques, co-managing director and spokesperson for Trajectoire Québec, an organization that advocates for public transit users, said he’s “extremely disappointed and concerned” about the strike.
“It’s really the users who will suffer the consequences, especially the less fortunate who may not have access to other means of transportation, who may not have a car, who may not be able to get around by bike,” he said, pointing in particular to seniors.
Jacques said he would prefer that transit workers find other ways to pressure their employer that don't "take users hostage."
Meanwhile, alternative transportation services in Montreal are trying to fill the gap. Bixi Montreal, a bike-sharing service, says it will add depot stations at high-traffic locations during peak hours, and will extend employee hours.
Communauto, a car-sharing service, says it's working to ensure as many of its vehicles are in service as possible, and may encourage users to carpool. Communauto has a fleet of about 4,500 vehicles in Montreal.
"We can certainly help, but this situation shows how essential public transit is in a city, and that car sharing is a complement, not a substitute, for public transit," said Marco Viviani, vice-president for strategic development of Communauto, in a statement.
Universities in Montreal are also preparing for the transit crunch. HEC Montréal, the business school of Université de Montréal, says that classes scheduled from Monday to Wednesday will be offered virtually or in hybrid form.
McGill University has asked supervisors and academic staff to accommodate instructors and students who may be affected.
Montreal's transit agency is currently negotiating collective agreements with four of its six unions.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2025.
Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press
