Montreal St. Patrick's Day revellers come out despite frigid temps
Anti-police brutality protest quickly contained at 192nd annual St. Patrick's Day parade
Tens of thousands of Montrealers lined Ste-Catherine Street West Sunday for the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade despite concerns over whether a group of anti-police brutality protesters would spoil the fun.
The 192nd annual St. Patrick’s Day parade went off without a hitch on a frigid Sunday.
A small group of anti-police brutality activists attended the parade as well, with the intention of holding a protest there.
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"Yes, there will be a demonstration in the downtown," parade spokesman Kevin Murphy said before the parade. "But it’s not against us, it’s not against the spectators, it’s not against families."
The protest ended up being a mostly subdued demonstration due to both the cold and police presence.
The parade was originally supposed to take place last weekend but was rescheduled after discovering the annual protest against police brutality was happening the same day, which happens on March 15 every year.
Last weekend's protest ended up being short-lived after immediately being declared illegal.
Revellers, officials brave the cold
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, who grew up in Montreal, was at the parade on Sunday.
"It's been 30-some years that I've been participating in our St. Patrick's Day parade. Forty per cent of Quebecers have some Irish blood, so it's a nice day to celebrate even if we're a little cold," Mulcair said.
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said the Irish are part of the city's heritage and said even he had some Irish blood.
"It comes and finds us. They're our roots. It's a nice moment to celebrate," Coderre said.