The NYE fireworks show in Montreal's Old Port has been cancelled

Montrealers hoping to start the new year with a bang may be disappointed come Dec. 31; the annual fireworks show in the Old Port has been cancelled for the second year in a row.

According to the nonprofit that organizes the fireworks, Montréal en Fêtes, the decision boils down to several factors -- including a lack of funding from the city.

In November, Montréal en Fêtes announced the permanent cancellation of its free winter activities, which in previous years included a New Year's Eve party in the Old Port, complete with live entertainment and a dazzling fireworks display.

"The COVID-19 pandemic, inflation of production costs, challenges related to the winter vacation season, public and private financing issues motivated this decision, marking the end of an era of festivities and large-scale free gatherings in December," reads a notice from Montréal en Fêtes published last month.

Speaking to CTV News on Friday, the chair of the nonprofit's board of directors, Dimitri Soudas, went into more detail.

"Unfortunately, one of our funding partners was not at the table anymore. The Government of Canada was there, the Government of Quebec was there, the private sector was there, but the Grinch was the Plante administration," he said.

According to Soudas, Mayor Valerie Plante's administration declined to contribute to this year's events as it had done previously. He said the funding would have amounted to "a few hundred thousand dollars."

The City of Montreal did not respond to a request for confirmation from CTV News.

Since Montréal en Fêtes' foundation in 2013, its December-long activities have always been first-come-first-serve and free of charge.

"[We had] one very basic principle: it would always be free for everybody," Soudas said, adding that he and the founders of Montréal en Fêtes were all raised by single mothers and often couldn't afford to participate in holiday events around the city.

Soudas said that by the time the event got off the ground, it was attracting "more than 200,000 people every single edition."

"It was probably the biggest tourist attraction during the holiday season here in Montreal. Hotels would be full, restaurants would be full, and the most important thing: everybody would be able to come for free," Soudas explained.

Some workers in the Old Port told CTV News it's been a relatively lacklustre holiday season (which certainly hasn't been helped by the unfestive weather).

"It's fairly nice, but definitely nowhere near what it [was] in previous years, especially since usually the entire Place Jacques-Cartier is all decorated with firepits and lights and a stage down there," said souvenir shop worker Zahra Al Talibi.

"I remember a couple years ago it reached -40 C, and it was still packed with people, the weather never stopped people. It's just a shame that there's no snow, there's no winter festivity feeling."

Montréal en Fêtes' activities were also interrupted in 2022, when it announced it would temporarily pause its operations to meet with partners and "update its financing."

This will be the second year in a row that Montrealers have missed out on New Year's Eve fireworks; this time, the nonprofit is shutting it down for good.

With files from CTV News reporter Denise Roberts.