Montreal vegan festival shows growing popularity of plant-based lifestyles

The Montreal Vegan Festival is back for its 11th edition at the Old Port. (Anastasia Dextrene / CTV)

The Montreal Vegan Festival is back for its 11th edition.

Admission is free and visitors can explore a wide selection of vegan products from baked and freeze-dried goods to skincare, cosmetics and more.

Lloyd Rose, co-spokesperson for the festival and founder of Plantcrazii, says he credits the festival’s ongoing success to curiosity.

"People are seeing, they're going in their favorite fast food [restaurants] like Burger King, KFC, they're seeing a plant-based meal, they're seeing a plant-based burger. You can't avoid it anymore," says Rose.

With more than 100 featured vendors, Rose expects thousands will attend not only for food, but also for a sense of community.

"So many people come out of their homes. People make friends. People try foods they've never tried before," he said.

As an industry veteran, vendor Jimmy Tremblay from VegNature says he pleased to see how the demand and supply of vegan products has evolved, particularly in the last 10 years.

"Now you cannot even make the difference in between conventional products and plant-based products. You know, it's great. In the past, it wasn't the case at all," Tremblay told CTV News.

Shabnam Namazi, a vegan real estate broker says she welcomes the festival as an opportunity to share how eco-conscious thinking can play a part in all aspects of life.

"We are participating [...] to just help people be more aware of how to make their homes eco friendly and sustainable," she said.

"Our future relies on what we do now, and so it's just a matter of making small changes to your daily life to have a greater impact in the long term."

The Montreal Vegan Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 6p.m. from Nov. 9-10 at the Grand Quay of the Port of Montreal.