Year in review: 10 of Montreal's biggest stories in 2023

2023 was not a quiet year for the Montreal area. From tragedies to victories and everything in between, here are 10 of the top stories that gripped Montrealers this year. 

DEATH AT THE BORDER

On Jan. 4, a man's lifeless body was discovered near Roxham Road in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Que.

He was later identified as Fritznel Richard, 44, a Haitian migrant living in Montreal.

Until recently, Roxham Road was an unofficial border crossing commonly used by asylum seekers entering Canada through the U.S.

Richard was making the less common and more treacherous passage in the opposite direction, travelling on foot through a wooded area in an attempt to reunite with his family, who were living in the U.S. while he sought work in Montreal.

His death, believed to be caused by hypothermia, prompted calls to reduce regulatory barriers to migration.

The Roxham Road crossing was formally closed months later following an amendment to the Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the U.S.

Critics argued the change would force migrants to pursue more dangerous pathways between the two nations, risking the same fate as Friztnel Richard.

A police canine unit searches the area near an irregular border crossing in Quebec, where a man was found dead.

LAVAL DAYCARE BUS CRASH

On February 8, the Greater Montreal community was rocked after a city bus crashed into a Laval daycare, killing two young children and injuring several others.

The victims were identified as Jacob Gauthier and Maëva David, both four years old.

The driver, 51-year-old Pierre Ny St-Amand, was arrested at the scene. Witnesses described him as hysterical, tearing off his clothes and screaming upon exiting the bus. Multiple people restrained him to the ground before police arrived.

Ny St-Amand was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, among other charges. Proceedings were delayed several times due to the complexity of the case and the need for psychological evaluations.

Parents wait for news after a bus crashed into a daycare centre in Laval, Que., February 8, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

OLD MONTREAL FIRE

In the early hours of March 16, a massive fire ripped through a historic building in Old Montreal.

More than 120 firefighters battled the blaze, darting up ladders to help those trapped inside. Nine people were injured.

Authorities initially reported one missing person, but later said a staggering total of seven people were unaccounted for in the wake of the fire.

It was an agonizing 11 days before all the bodies were recovered from the rubble. The victims were identified as An Wu, 31, Saniya Khan, 31, Dania Zafar, 31, Camille Maheux, 76, Walid Belkahla, 18, Nathan Sears, 35, and Charlie Lacroix, 18.

Most had been visiting from out of town and were staying in illegal short-term rental units, or Airbnbs. The practice had been banned in Montreal's historic district since 2018, but reports later revealed that, despite lawmakers' efforts, the city was saturated with unregistered short-term rentals.

The tragedy prompted Quebec and Montreal to crack down further on Airbnbs, although the long-term effects of their efforts remain to be seen.

It was also revealed that city inspectors had flagged the building for safety issues in the years preceding the fire.

The cause of the blaze remained a mystery until, at the end of April, police reported that traces of accelerant were found at the scene.

In other words, police weren't investigating an accident anymore; they were investigating seven homicides.

No major developments in the case have been publicized since the spring.

A few lawsuits are in the works, however. One was filed against the city by the building's owner, Emile Benamor, who said Montreal's regulations for heritage properties made it impossible to make certain changes and repairs to the structure; and two were filed against Benamor himself by the victims' family members.

Investigators and firefighters are shown at the scene following a fire in Old Montreal, Saturday, March 18, 2023, that gutted the heritage building. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

ICE STORM

On April 5, a powerful ice storm pummeled Quebec and Ontario, knocking out electricity to 1 million households in Quebec alone and ultimately causing three fatalities.

Nearly half of the outages were in the Montreal area, plunging over 400,000 of the region's Hydro-Quebec customers into darkness.

Meanwhile, thick ice blanketed trees and powerlines across the city -- a nightmare for street parkers, some of whom woke up to their cars smashed by falling debris.

Two men, one in Ontario and one in Quebec, were killed by tree branches that had become weighed down with ice.

In some households, residents were powerless for over a week, with their communities opening temporary emergency shelters where locals could stay warm.

Dozens of people in Laval and Montreal were hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning after they resorted to using outdoor appliances, such as barbecues and generators, indoors.

The storm claimed a third life after a man in Saint-Joseph-Du-Lac, Que. ran a generator in his garage. He was discovered there unconscious and later confirmed dead in hospital.

The vicious storm called the resilience of Hydro-Quebec's power grid into question. In November, the crown corporation's CEO pledged to improve customer service and reduce outages by 35 per cent over the next seven to 10 years.

Fallen tree branches block a street following an accumulation of ice rain in Montreal, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

WILDFIRE SMOG

On June 5, Montrealers woke up to the first of many hazy summer mornings thanks to wildfire smoke billowing in from the north.

2023 saw by far Quebec's worst wildfire season on record, with a whopping 4.5 million hectares burned.

Surrounding cities and communities would become thick with smoke, with some northern populations evacuated from their homes for extended periods.

In Montreal, it was not unusual to see the horizon disappear behind a veil of yellow fog; in fact, on June 24, the city had the worst air quality in the world.

The skyline of Montreal is obscured by a haze of smog, Sunday, June 25, 2023, as a smog warning is in effect for Montreal and multiple regions of the province due to forest fires. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

LAUNCH OF THE REM

On July 31, Greater Montreal's much-anticipated electric, driverless light rail network was officially launched.

The first section of the REM runs between downtown Montreal and the South Shore, with plans to extend the line westward in the coming years.

The initial launch was delayed and then delayed again, and there were mounting concerns from the public about how an elevated train would fare in the Montreal winters.

Despite a few hiccups, the REM's opening was a success, with tens of thousands of locals lining up to take a ride (although there were multiple service interruptions in its first few days of operation).

It hasn't been entirely smooth sailing since then, either.

The REM's parent company, CPDQ Infra, has been lobbed with repeated noise complaints from surrounding neighbourhoods, and frequent service interruptions have left some commuters dissatisfied with the service (and who can forget when, in the REM's first week, passengers were left stranded in the light rail's garage after their automated train took a wrong turn).

CPDQ Infra has since begun noise-reduction work and said it's working on improving its communication with customers.

Alex Busby and son Oscar take a ride on the Reseau express metropolitain (REM) light rail system in Montreal, Saturday, July 29, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

EFFECTS OF THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

On October 7, the militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 people hostage, over 100 of whom remain captive today.

Israel responded with continuous airstrikes and, eventually, ground offensives. Nearly 20,000 people have since been killed in Gaza, according to the latest figures, and much of the international community -- including Canada but not the U.S. -- has called for a ceasefire amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in the region.

The effects of the war continue to grip Montreal, a city home to large Jewish and Arab-Muslim communities.

Protests, mostly in support of Palestinians, have flooded the streets on a weekly basis.

In November, a clash at Concordia University between Israel and Palestinian supporters made national headlines, as did a series of hate incidents targeting Jewish institutions in the city.

Between October 7 and December 19, 126 hate crimes and hate incidents were reported to Montreal police by the Jewish community, while the Arab-Muslim community reported 38.

People take part in a protest for Palestine in Montreal, Sunday, October 8, 2023. Hamas militants led a surprise attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday leading to many casualties on both sides and retaliation strikes by Israel into Gaza. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

TUITION HIKES

On October 12, the Quebec government announced its plan to significantly raise tuition costs for out-of-province and international students, a move intended to help preserve the French language.

Francois Legault's government argued that too many non-French speaking students move to Montreal for their studies only to leave after graduation, contributing to a decline of French in the city.

The announcement was met with fierce backlash from Quebec's English-language universities, McGill, Concordia and Bishop's, who said it would not only devastate their finances, but tarnish Montreal and Quebec's reputation on the world stage.

The move was also criticized by many of Quebec's French-language universities. 

In October, hundreds of students took to the streets of Montreal to protest the changes.

The latest iteration of Quebec's plan involves raising tuition by 30 per cent for out-of-province students and requiring 80 per cent of them to graduate with an intermediate knowledge of French.

ALOUETTES WIN

On Nov. 19, CFL underdogs the Montreal Alouettes secured a 28-24 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, winning them the Grey Cup.

Quarterback Cody Fajardo, who was named Grey Cup MVP, threw 290 passing yards and sealed the deal in the final with his third touchdown pass of the game.

It was the team's first CFL win since 2010 and followed an uncertain season involving the sale of the franchise earlier that year.

Montrealers came out in droves to the victory parade a few days later, turning the Quartier des spectacles to a sea of red and blue as fans partied the day away.  

Montreal Alouettes quarterback Cody Fajardo (7) and running back Jeshrun Antwi (20) celebrate with head coach Jason Maas after defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to win the 110th CFL Grey Cup football championship in Hamilton, Ont., on Sunday, November 19, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

PUBLIC SECTOR STRIKES

On November 6, nearly half a million public sector workers in Quebec launched the first of several strikes amid stalled negotiations with the provincial government.

Health, social service, and education workers with the Common Front of unions were on and off strike for weeks, calling for wages that keep up with inflation and better working conditions.

Unions outside the Common Front were also on the picket line, shuttering schools, CEGEPs and some clinical services for days or weeks at a time.

The FAE teacher's union, for one, was on an unlimited strike until the holiday break, leaving many parents in Montreal unsure when their kids would return to school.

The Quebec government and most unions say progress has been made at the negotiation table in recent days, and several tentative agreements in principle were reached.

But the labour dispute isn't over. Unions must present the agreement proposals to their members for approval, and the FIQ nurse's union has yet to reach any kind of agreement with the province.

So when will the labour conflict finally end? We'll have to find out in the new year.

Striking teachers with the FAE union march through the streets to press their contract demands Tuesday, December 12, 2023 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz