The results are in and Montreal's 375th anniversary celebrations are being hailed as a success – and they came in under budget, too.
Organizers say the various activities for the year-long party generated short-term economic benefits and jobs, adding that more than 40 per cent of the major events will likely be repeated.
“Montreal had to regain confidence. You remember Montreal four, five years ago? It's not the same Montreal we have today. And the 375 was one of the vehicles to bring us there,” said France Chretien Desmarais, chair of the board of directors for the 375th.
The event had a global budget of $123 million, but used $107 million, leaving $16 million unspent (that number doesn’t include overall costs for major infrastructure projects, including building a new amphitheatre in Jean-Drapeau Park).
“The importance of being on budget was our target. Coming under budget is a treat,” said Alain Gignac, general manager of the Society for the Celebrations of Montreal's 375th.
That extra money will be returned to Montreal and Quebec, along with $14.4 million in tax revenues for provincial and federal governments. The unused amounts, combined with tax revenues, will generate direct returns of $30.8 million for the three levels of government, as evaluated using Tourisme Québec's methodology.
“Well if they're taxpayers, they might be happy that a lot of other things will happen in the future in Montreal because it would generate other revenue,” said Chretien Desmarais.
Many Montrealers grumbled about the lighting of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge – though the majority of those funds came from the federal government – as well as the infamous granite tree stumps on Mount Royal.
While there were general complaints during Denis Coderre's tenure as mayor about the price tag for the year-long celebration, the Society for the Celebrations of Montreal's 375th calls the event a success – and Projet Montreal agrees.
At the time, the then-opposition party was critical of how much was being spent on the celebrations, but now they say the events were a boon for tourism and boosted the city's profile.
“What the goal of the event was, was to make a big splash, a multitude of events, over the course of the whole year throughout Montreal. Things that were going to speak to just about every kind of person, locally and internationally,” said Christine Gosselin, a member of the city's executive committee. “Because there were generous contributions from the provincial government and federal government, I think it was a very good deal for Montreal.”
A CROP poll indicates that one in two Montrealers participated in events and the poll rated satisfaction with events at 96 per cent.
Auditing firm KPMG said last year’s celebrations generated more than 1,688 direct and indirect jobs between 2015 and 2018.
An estimated 2.4 million people took part in more than 250 events. The city also welcomed 11 million tourists, making it the best year for tourism since Expo 67.
The city also heralded the outreach the events created, including 102 neighbourhood projects and beautifying 100 schoolyards.
“If we had been the administration in power, would we have made exactly those same choices? Probably not. But that's what we celebrate: 375 years of continuity. Montreal does great things, it makes mistakes, we learn from that and it's about making choices. Different administrations make different choices,” said Gosselin
The Society for the Celebrations of Montreal's 375th called the festivities an investment for the City of Montreal, thanks to contributions they say from the provincial and federal governments.
The city plans to release its own report in June, and that report will look closely at infrastructure projects that were completed for the 375th.
