Montreal welcomes back first full St. Paddy's Day parade since 2019
The sun came out from behind the clouds and the snow flurries subsided for the 198th United Irish Societies of Montreal (UISM) St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Thousands lined the streets clad in green for the first time since 2019.
There was a smaller walking parade in 2022.
"I think I can speak for most of Montreal to say we're really excited to be here," said vice-president of public relations for the UISM Lauren Tracey. "We're going to have a nice long parade."
Members of the crowd enjoy the St. Patrick's Day parade in Montreal, Sunday, March 19, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
More than 80 floats travelled up Ste. Catherine Street in the downtown core to the sound of around 20 bands from Quebec and Ontario.
Tracey said that the parade is always a year in the making and that it takes dozens of volunteers to make it go smoothly.
"I think the misconception is that March is a busy month and then otherwise, you're just kind of sitting pretty and waiting for it to happen," she said. "It's not."
Some four-legged friends also headed downtown Montreal on Sunday for the St. Patrick's Day parade.
For the downtown establishments that have been hard hit by the pandemic restrictions and migration of workers to remote work, the return of the event couldn't come soon enough.
"Finally back to normal!" said managing partner at Brutopia Bru Pub on Crescent Street Jeff Picard.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Survey shows employees aren’t disconnecting from work on vacation
Although remote work has cleared the way for workplace flexibility, allowing employees to work in various locations (and climates), a new study suggests it’s taking a serious toll on work-life balance.

Macron announces France is sending 100 firefighters to Quebec
France will be sending firefighters to aid Quebec as the province continues to battle massive forest fires, French President Emmanuel Macron announced.
Increase in mosquitoes 'a trend' across Canada this year. Here's why
Mosquitoes have always been pesky, but this spring it seems the bloodsuckers are thirstier than ever, a trend one expert says is increasing.
Nova Scotians’ personal information stolen in global security breach: province
The Nova Scotia government says it is investigating the theft of personal information stolen through a global privacy breach to a third-party file transfer system the province was using.
Adult victim in Que. fishing incident that killed 4 children identified
Quebec provincial police (SQ) have identified the adult victim of a fishing incident that claimed five lives over the weekend, most of them children. Keven Girard, 37, was among a group of 11 people swept up by the tide late Friday night while fishing along the shore in Portneuf-sur-Mer, a village about 550 kilometres northeast of Montreal.
Uncertainty remains for Halifax-area evacuees as wildfire 100 per cent contained
A wildfire that tore through homes and businesses in the Halifax area is 100 per cent contained, but a historic fire in southwestern Nova Scotia remains out of control.
Canada sticking with 2050 net zero targets, but progress may come faster than expected, minister says
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the federal government is not ruling out finding ways to achieve net zero sooner than the existing 2050 goal, but would not say whether there would be a definitive commitment to move up the target.
Apple is expected to unveil a sleek, pricey headset. Is it the device VR has been looking for?
Apple appears poised to unveil a long-rumoured headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter's ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public's imagination.
Ukrainian father rushes home after Russian airstrike to find 2-year-old daughter dead in rubble
A Ukrainian man rushed to his home outside the central city of Dnipro in hopes of rescuing his family, only to find his two-year-old daughter dead and wife seriously wounded as he helped pull them from the rubble of their apartment destroyed in one of Russia's latest airstrikes of the war, authorities reported Sunday.