Montreal wants to build dense, walkable neighbourhoods. Can it deliver?
Critics say evolution toward well-planned housing projects bogged down by bureaucracy
Montreal is betting big on a denser urban future, transforming empty lots, old industrial sites and parking spaces into walkable neighbourhoods packed with thousands of stacked housing units, parks, schools and transit.
At least that's the plan under outgoing Mayor Valérie Plante's administration.
But the city's bold vision faces delays, rising costs and resistance to dense living — raising doubts about whether Montreal can deliver livable, lasting neighbourhoods that discourage car use and keep families in the city.
Some of the more recent projects include Molson, Bridge-Bonaventure and Place Versailles.
Robert Beaudry, the city councillor in charge of urban planning on Montreal's executive committee, says the goal is to avoid recreating the mistakes of Griffintown — a hodgepodge of high-rises built without planning for amenities like health centres and parks. He says that happened because developers were basically given a blank cheque to build.
Noting that Montreal is an island with a housing crisis, Beaudry emphasized the importance of more co-ordinated planning.
"The territory is not expandable, so we need to improve the utilization of the ground to respond to that crisis," said Beaudry. "We don't only have a housing crisis. We also have an ecological crisis."
That's why it's important to fight flooding and heat islands while ensuring there are green spaces, he said. The hope is to create a 15-minute city rather than patchworked urban sprawl.
"That's the vision of Montreal and that's the vision we put in our regulations when we deposited our urban plan," said Beaudry, describing that plan, submitted a few weeks ago, as one that opens Montreal for smart development that responds to the population's needs.
"Because yes, we need units. But we need affordable units as well. And we also need green spaces and places we can go to school, get services or our groceries."
Will Montrealers adopt dense housing?
Since 2017, the Plante administration has planned six major projects aimed at adding roughly 75,000 housing units, designed to align with the city's 20-20-20 regulation: 20 per cent of any major project devoted each to social housing, affordable housing and family housing.
Critics argue the 20-20-20 bylaw has largely failed to generate significant social or affordable housing since it was established in 2021, and most developers have chosen to pay fees rather than build the required units.
The city has since revamped the bylaw and said there are more than 200 agreements with developers and hundreds of units have been completed or are in the process of being built.
But the question remains: will Montrealers adopt dense residential living? Richard Shearmur isn't convinced.
He's a professor of urban planning at McGill University and has published studies on the annual exodus of Montrealers looking for lower-density housing outside the city to raise families with backyards for barbecuing and garages for their Ski-Doos.
In 2020–21, Montreal saw a 60 per cent spike in residents leaving — more than 40,000 people during the pandemic as people adopted remote work. That number was less dramatic in 2023–24. According to Statistics Canada, Montreal had a net loss of 21,901 residents.
But that was much higher than 2018–19, when Montreal's net loss was approximately 14,117 residents, with most staying in the province.
While encouraging people to embrace dense housing is a challenge, Shearmur said the bigger issue is building multiple large-scale projects simultaneously.
Construction workers, materials and financing will be needed to bring these projects to life, he said — assuming they meet requirements and get final city approval.
The 20-20-20 regulation can hold up entire projects as developers scramble for funding or weigh whether the project's value justifies the investment.
"Most developers, if the rules were clear and the money was upfront, would be able to deal with it," he said, referring to the social housing requirement.
"But because they're a bit unsure, and it's never clear if the money is coming in, it does make it more difficult to manage the development."
Too many hurdles, says opposition
Still, the objective of creating dense neighbourhoods makes sense as it combats urban sprawl, said Shearmur.
That vision is logical, but there are too many hurdles for developers, said Aref Salem, head of the Official Opposition at city hall.
He cited the Hippodrome in the west end as an unrealized housing development. The land is owned by the city, but a billion dollars in municipal infrastructure is needed to get it going.
Bridge-Bonaventure, which promises thousands of units, also needs a billion dollars in infrastructure, including a station for the city's new light-rail system, he said.
"The need of Montreal is to build … a lot more units," said Salem. "Between now and 2030, we're talking close to 60,000 units and we are really far from that."
He said it takes too long to get projects approved and permits are expensive. Developers are instead leaving Montreal to build on the North or South shores, avoiding the red tape and costs of meeting the 20-20-20 regulation.
"This is really another issue that we have with this administration that we never saw before the last eight years here in Montreal," said Salem.
Longtime Montreal architect Ron Rayside of Rayside Labossière said high-density housing can't be built everywhere. But if the city wants these big projects to happen, "there is room to accelerate the process on all levels."
Still, large-scale projects don't happen overnight. It takes years to plan and secure funding — especially with rising costs, he said.
"It's a long process sometimes, and maybe part of the problem is that not everyone is aware of the various steps in that long process," he said.
Beaudry acknowledged red tape has slowed some projects, but said the Plante administration has worked to reduce those barriers, establishing norms to issue permits faster. Under the new urban plan, he said, the process is more predictable. Quebec has also helped streamline approvals.
But developers still need provincial and federal funding to build the required social and affordable housing, he said. The goal is to plan the city well — not just tower after tower.
The walkable topography will mix building types, green space, shopping and social services, he said, citing Place Versailles as an example of turning a mall and parking lot into something greater.
"We work hand-in-hand with the developers and other partners to make sure the neighbourhood isn't based on cars. It's based on public transit," said Beaudry. "It's an ongoing process."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
