Montreal's got a nightlife policy, so why are venues still at risk?

On July 19, the quintessential Plateau venue Blue Dog shut its doors after more than 30 years of operation.

Its shuttering followed a string of similar venue closures clustered around the Plateau borough, each of which almost always involved issues with a single residential neighbour. 

The fate of Blue Dog—and its unfortunate predecessors like La Tulipe, Diving Bell Social Club, Divan Orange, and others—is no accident. It’s the product of a regulatory deck that has long been stacked in favour of real estate developers and unreasonable residents, and against live music spaces just trying to survive. 

On a panel I recently participated in, Jon Weisz of Les Scènes de musique alternatives du Québec (SMAQ), an advocacy group for independent venues, summed up the dynamic aptly.

“At any given point, there are 10 to 15 individual residents holding Montreal’s entire venue scene hostage.”

Each venue closure is a tremendous loss to its surrounding community, and the cultural ecosystem depends on emerging artists cutting their teeth in these humble, beer-stained rooms. For me, the loss of Blue Dog was personal: I co-hosted my first-ever event there in 2016, and have gone on to form somewhat of a career hosting 1000-person-plus electronic music shows around the city. 

With each closure, public backlash has mounted, and the city’s leadership seems to be listening. After the legendary concert hall La Tulipe closed in 2024, Ericka Alneus, a city executive committee member in charge of culture, released a reassuring statement: 

"Alternative venues are dear to Montrealers. They are also very important for the next generation and emerging culture. We cannot afford to see them close."

Shortly after, the city published its first-ever city-wide nightlife policy, and followed up in subsequent months with a flurry of additional nightlife-related announcements. 

But is the fate of Montreal’s independent venues now secure? Or are we doomed to fall back into the same cycle? With so much happening, it can be hard to keep track. Here’s a brief status update on all things nightlife policy in Montreal. 

Montreal's nighttime policy

Released by Mayor Valérie Plante’s administration in October 2024 after several years of delays, the politique de la vie nocturne montréalaise is a premiere framework aimed at specifically governing nightlife. 

The policy seeks to balance the needs of residents and nightlife spaces through a gradual implementation approach, various public consultation bodies and the coordination of pertinent city services. It sets out how the central government intends to accompany boroughs in the update of their permitting processes, noise bylaws, soundproofing norms, and management of noise complaints. One major aspect is the designation of “nightlife vitality” hubs and establishments; another is the establishment of a central roundtable to guide the implementation of the policy—more on these later.

The wishlist goes on: better late-night public transit, improved data-gathering, additional support for venues, the establishment of nocturnal community spaces, and the dedication of public space for nightlife activities. 

But there’s a main question mark: The timeframe. With the situation already critical, venues will continue to be picked off without immediate, substantive protections. Currently, no timeframes have been announced for the implementation of most of the above-mentioned objectives. 

With Mayor Plante declining to seek reelection, the policy could very well be tweaked (or even withdrawn) by her successor. It could also be kept in place, shaping Montreal’s nightlife management approach for years to come.

Nightlife vitality hubs and establishments 

The city has begun “accrediting” districts and venues as “Nightlife Vitality Hubs and Establishments.” This program follows an earlier pilot project for extended alcohol service hours that the city deemed to be a success. 

Once complex, the process for obtaining a special extended permit has now been streamlined for venues with this designation. Participating establishments will also benefit from millions of dollars of new funding for things like soundproofing and innovative programming.

Some nightlife hubs and zones are already regularly taking advantage of this newfound flexibility, such as the Société des arts technologies (SAT) with its ALLNIGHT series and the MAIN NON-STOP series for venues further up Saint Laurent. It has been a boon for the electronic music scene in particular, opening up new spaces for late-night events while additional bar sales help organizers make ends meet. Additionally, demands on emergency services are less concentrated when clients head home gradually, rather than in a singular horde at 3 AM. 

On the flipside, some in the nightlife community are concerned about the emergence of a two-tiered system that could restrict the ability of the “underground” scene to enjoy extended licenses. These organizers tend to favour blank-slate spaces or newer venues rather than established bars and clubs. 

For now, it is still possible to request extended permits for these spaces, but this could change in the future.

Roundtable on nightlife

The City of Montreal’s Roundtable of Nightlife, or table de concertation de la vie nocturne, was set up in winter 2025 with the mandate of guiding the implementation of the Nighttime Policy. 

The roundtable is co-presided by Ms. Alneus and Jenny Thibault, general director of the SAT—a welcome leadership considering the venue’s position at the forefront of innovative nightlife in Montreal. 

Other members include representatives of venues and festivals, the STM, the Moralité branch of the police, academia, community groups, and industry associations. 

This initiative seems well-considered, but concerns remain on the pace of the roundtable’s work, and the focus on more consultation when many in the industry feel the solutions for better nightlife are already clear (and urgently needed). 

Nightlife governance within the city administration 

The city has stopped short of proposing a nightlife tzar-type position at the executive level, which even our sleepy neighbour Ottawa moved towards in June 2024 (a position occupied by a former Montreal raver, no less). 

Instead, a directorate has been formed within the municipal public service, with a director of nightlife and winter strategy at the head and a small cadre of cultural and economic development officers in support. 

These officials are a professional and hardworking bunch. But a truly effective pro-nightlife approach would require someone from the industry occupying a post reporting directly to the mayor. Nightlife is a complicated and unique animal; someone with a deep personal and professional knowledge of the sector is needed to interface between politics, bureaucracy and community stakeholders.

Noise bylaws 

Montreal’s uncompromising noise bylaws, which date back to the 1970s, hold that any amount of noise emanating from a building can be considered a nuisance if a neighbour or police officer deems it as such. 

Pressure on the live music industry ratcheted up in 2010 when former Plateau mayor Luc Ferrandez increased maximum fines from $1,000 to $12,000. The outcry following La Tulipe’s closure last year seemed to mark a turning point: Mr. Ferrandez’s successor Luc Rabouin (now  leading Project Montréal and running for mayor) announced in September 2024 that concert venues would be exempted from the most problematic section of the noise bylaw.

This was followed up by a full bylaw review in the Plateau and in Ville-Marie in June 2025. 

The proposed update would replace zero tolerance provisions that allow for modest exceedances of ambient decibel levels. While seemingly well-intentioned, the proposed updates contained many concerning elements seized on by nightlife advocates. 

For one, first-time noise fines would increase from $1,500 to $10,000—that’s an existential sum for small venues. The police’s role in responding to complaints would be maintained, while additional inspections and monitoring equipment could be mandated. Industry members widely perceived this as a move towards increased surveillance without addressing root causes behind venue closures. 

The resulting public comment process received more than 13,000 unhappy comments, leading officials to announce they would pull the drafted bylaws for review. The resulting changes are unlikely to be released before the upcoming municipal elections on November 2.

Looking ahead

The municipal elections will determine the next mayor of Montreal along with borough mayors, councillors and more. 

With nightlife a major concern for Montrealers, all three main parties have included the issue in their platforms. Ensemble Montreal party has proposed a mediation-based process for managing noise complaints, that would route complaints to a dedicated administrative unit instead of the police. 

Transition Montréal—run by former metalhead Craig Sauvé—goes perhaps the furthest in their pledged support, advocating for, among other things, the creation of a Night Mayor position and a non-profit property fund to protect venues. 

Projet Montréal’s electoral platform seems only to mention nightlife in the context of two things that have already been done: the adoption of the nightlife policy and the granting of flexibility for nightlife operating hours. 

Seeking additional clarity on these platforms, a coalition of advocacy and industry groups recently announced an electoral dialogue on nightlife on October 16 at Union Française, a venue that is itself managing noise issues with nearby condo residents. 

No matter which party wins the elections next month, one maxim in politics always applies: the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The nightlife community will need to continue making noise to ensure the richness of our nocturnal culture is protected.

As the past few years have shown, we can no longer afford to take our status as a nightlife city for granted. The survival of our venues depends on it.