Maxime Bergeron ponders Canada geese and possums as parts of the city fauna.
Updates from April, 2025 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
Tickets went on sale Saturday for the Canadiens’ home games against the Washington Capitals, April 25 and 27, and they were soon changing hands for exorbitant prices.
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Kate
Advance polls opened Friday for the April 28 general election, and long lines are forming in some places.
I voted Friday. Last time I voted in an advance poll it was in that same building, during the second peak of Covid, and I walked right in. Nobody there except the scrutineers. Friday I had to play musical chairs with several dozen other voters for more than half an hour.
We may get a record turnout if this continues.
Updating: Elections Canada says two million people voted on Friday – a record!
walkerp
I went in at 8:45 just because it seemed cool to be able to vote so late. There was almost nobody there, but one of the poll workers told me it had been quite busy all day.
Chris
I’m jealous that you guys are able to decide who to vote for.
Kate
My eye did linger for a moment on the Marxist-Leninist, but then there was this guy:
jeather
I voted by mail because my voting locations are inconvenient.
FYI it’s ok if the cats bit it a little as long as all the info is still there and legible.
teeowe
I also voted by mail (expat) – now it’s up to Canada Post – oh dear 🙁
Kate
I had no pressing reason to vote in advance, except the advance poll was in a more accessible building. The main poll around here is always in the high school, a sprawling bit of 1970s Quebec brutalist architecture with about eight doors, although none could be called the main door. You’ll see parties of perplexed voters circling the building trying to figure out how to get inside.
MarcG
I also voted Friday morning in Verdun and the lines were pretty long but I figured it was simply because a lot of people had the day off work. Maybe the hoopla will generate a higher turnout.
H. John
I voted Friday afternoon. I’ve voted in advance since the 2000 election.
I really never paid much attention; but, I thought from past experience, each individual poll table had two staff members sharing the work of accepting and checking IDs, looking up details on the election list, and preparing and handing over a ballot.
This time at my polling station in NDG (NDG-Westmount riding) there was only one. @Kate from your experience, were you sitting alone?
Of the four polls, three had people in and out in 20 minutes or less.
Not mine.
From arrival at the back of the line until I walked out, it took an hour and fifteen minutes.
All the staff at the polling station could not have been nicer; maybe it was just day one shaking out the problems.
I was also surprised by how quickly people started to chat to each other in the line, even about their concerns and how they were making a choice (although usually in broad strokes).
Kate
H. John, I applied to work on this election but never heard back. I haven’t worked one since Covid.
I’ve never manned a polling table alone. A minimum of two people worked each poll table, and sometimes three. There was a sense that it was important, generally, for more than one person to witness everything that happened throughout the day.
Maybe someone simply failed to show up at your polling station? But the poll station chief should have been able to call someone else in. There are always some people floating who can be roped in. Mine had four people just sort of directing traffic and interacting with voters, and presumably one of them could have sat in at a table if needed.
Also, in my experience you always need 2 signatures on the final count for your polling section. Don’t know how that would be legal with only one.
And yes, the polling station workers were all perky as hell. Elections Canada takes seriously the notion that it should be made easy and pleasant for people to vote.
There were 2 people at the poll table I voted at.
H. John
@Kate Your experience matches my memories.
But this time there were four polls at the polling station (and the desk for registration). All four poll tables had only one person.
Staff providing security and information, and wondering through the outdoor line (pre-checking to speed things up), easily outnumbered the four scrutineers.
H. John
@Kate. On further reflection, I think your guess is right. They were short people who had been trained as scrutineers; but more than one.
When I walked into the room the person who later appeared to be in charge of the station was training the scrutineer who eventually sat down and took over my poll.
Election Canada now says their preliminary numbers show 2 million Canadians voted Friday.
MarcG
Verdun also only had 1 person at each station.
walkerp
One person per table in my riding place as well. It was 8:45 PM so maybe they reduced at the end of the shift, but it seemed like this was how it was set up. A few floaters coming around to each table, though, and checking on things, moving pieces of paper around, etc.
steph
45 mins in/out for me. The five tables each all had two people, except mine. No fuss.
Now to find a way to get Election Canada to remove the é from my name – who keeps adding that accent???? STOP francizing my name!
Tyler
Hi Kate. I worked the last municipal election as a Scrutateur, alongside a Secrétaire. As it was explained to me at the time, for provincial and municipal elections, there are two people per station, but in federal elections, these two positions are combined into one. I’m not sure if the logic is to double the number of polling stations, to cut costs, or something else, but I agree that it’s nice to have two people overseeing the proceedings.
Tim S.
When I did a shift as an observer in the Verdun federal byelection, during the actual count those various floating workers were assigned a table so that there were two counting each box.
EmilyG
I voted on Friday. There were a lot of people there.
PatrickC
I sent in my mail vote on Thursday (like teeowe, an ex-pat). I hadn’t realized I didn’t have to pay any postage, even though I was mailing from the US, until I got to the post office. The very cheerful clerk told me they had received an email alerting them to the arrangement. With a flourish, she stamped the envelope with date and time in front of me to show it was done. Maybe Canada is getting some love here these days…
H. John
The correct term is Election Officer, not scrutineer (which I used).
And the changes to the voting process were made in December 2018.
Bill C-76 – An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act
https://www.parl.ca/documentviewer/en/42-1/bill/C-76/royal-assent
CE
My voter card didn’t show up so I went to the Elections Canada office for my riding to make sure I was on the list (I’ve moved since the last election). When I was there, he said I could vote now if I wanted. It was a different process, there was a list of candidates for my riding and I had to write the name of candidate I was voting for on a ballot. I think you can vote at these offices no matter what riding you live in so you can vote if you’re travelling within Canada during the election. It was pretty quick but I lost out on the experience of going to my voting station which I always enjoy.
Chris
No party even released their full platform before Saturday; for those that voted, I’m curious, this didn’t matter to you?
H. John
@Chris. No it didn’t.
In this instance there was a candidate (actually party leader) that I trusted more.
Are you telling me with a straight face that in each election where you voted, you waited until you’d had the chance to read the written platform of each party.
H. John
@Chris Your question prompted me to search for data on how many people read party platforms.
This is the AI answer I got:
“honestly, not that many Canadians read full party platforms from start to finish.
What the research shows:
While exact numbers can vary between elections, here’s a general picture based on political science research and surveys:
• Only about 5–10% of voters read full party platforms.
• A larger group (~25–40%) might skim platforms, look at summaries, or check specific policies (especially online).
• The majority of voters (over 60%) get their information from:
• Leaders’ debates
• Media coverage
• Social media
• Party websites or campaign materials (short-form)Platforms are more often read by:
• Political enthusiasts
• Journalists and researchers
• Candidates and campaign teams
• Interest groups and lobbyistsWhy most people don’t read them:
• They’re often long and dense (60–100+ pages).
• Many voters trust party brands or leaders more than detailed policy.
• People tend to vote based on a few key issues, not the whole package.So why do parties still publish them?
Even if few voters read them directly, platforms still:
• Shape media narratives
• Guide what candidates say on the campaign trail
• Serve as a record of promises (and a target for opposition)
• Help define a party’s vision and values”Kate
Thank you for all the info, H. John, and for the update on election rules and terminology, notably “(a) removes the assignment of specific responsibilities set out in the Act to specific election officers by creating a generic category of election officer to whom all those responsibilities may be assigned.”
Tim S.
I have my preferred party, but on the occasions when I change my mind, it’s because of the local candidate debates. I like to see if the candidates actually have decent knowledge of the issues, both local and national, and hopefully enough backbone to stand up for themselves/their constituents when necessary. Along the way I’ve developed a lot of respect for the community groups that put on the debates. They’re a super-important part of our democracy, and we’ll miss them if they go away.
GC
I was curious what a record turnout would even be. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_turnout_in_Canada, over 79%. (Of eligible voters–not population.) Though all the times it was over 76% were before I was born. And we haven’t topped 67% since I’ve been eligible to vote.
EmilyG
AI answers often get things wrong, though. I don’t trust them. I look for reliable sources. AI answers often just make things up.
Ian
About 60% wrong, on average according to one study I recently saw. Not much better than flipping a coin or just making stuff up yourself.
Chris
> Are you telling me with a straight face that in each election where you voted, you waited until you’d had the chance to read the written platform of each party.
I certainly wait for the media to read and summarize them. (maybe you’d prefer an AI summary, but same idea.)
Kate
Chris, you can’t rely on your own assessment of the parties and their leaders based on their histories and on reports of their behaviour and the things they say? You don’t realize platforms are not concrete plans, but fictions meant to appeal to undecided voters in a pinch?
Put simply, I wouldn’t vote for Pierre Poilievre even if it turned out his Conservative Party was promising free chocolate bunnies for bloggers every day. His whole carping sub‑Trumpian attitude proved to me months ago that he wasn’t fit to be prime minister. I was dreading the possibility.
But then I’ve never voted Conservative.
Chris
> Chris, you can’t rely on your own assessment of the parties and their leaders based on their histories and on reports of their behaviour and the things they say?
Partially, of course. You rely exclusively on that?
>You don’t realize platforms are not concrete plans
I certainly don’t expect 100% adherence, and I certainly expect some lies and exaggerations. But it’s nevertheless an approximation of their thinking and views.
>but fictions meant to appeal to undecided voters in a pinch?
Hmm, I think that’s a bit far-fetched / pessimistic.
>Put simply, I wouldn’t vote for Pierre Poilievre even if…
Sure, but you have many other choices too.
I guess many of you are just decided no matter what at this point.
> But then I’ve never voted Conservative.
Me neither.
H. John
@Emily wrote “AI answers often get things wrong…”
I agree. That is also true of Wiki, and almost any online source or printed encyclopaedia. The reason I mentioned it was AI was so that people would know where I got the info. I think ChatGPT is a wonderful, time saving starting point in research. And when I used it on this question I asked GPT for the sources it was using.
I don’t read and trust, I read and verify.
H. John
@Chris I wasn’t trying to criticize your choice to rely on printed platforms. I was genuinely surprised.
In your reply to Kate you wrote “I guess many of you are just decided no matter what at this point.” That would seem to be a cop out. You seem to be arguing that only your system for coming to a decision for whom to vote is valid.
I’m a political junkie. My first degree was political science. I was a campaign manager for a federal candidate in three general elections (2000, 2004, and 2006).
I read the political journalists I’ve learned, with experience, to trust daily.
I listen to political podcasts or political news reports/analyses a few times a day.
David Coletto, of Abacus Data, in newspaper articles and his substack (https://davidcoletto.substack.com/p/its-about-the-futureand-the-past) has provided eye-opening explanations of why people are seeing things differently this time around.
When I didn’t understand Justin Trudeau, I turned to political scientist Brooke Jeffrey and read “The Liberal Party of Canada, 2006-2019 – Road to Redemption”.
I took the time to read Carney’s book “Value(s)”, and the recent bio of Poilievre by historian Mark Bourrie.
Before I voted, I think I did my due diligence.
I’m not disagreeing with your choice. I just think you should stop demeaning other people’s choices.
Chris
>You seem to be arguing that only your system for coming to a decision for whom to vote is valid.
Huh? I am doing no such thing. In fact, I’m making no argument at all. I was just curious why people would vote before valuable (IMHO) information was released. I never said doing so was *wrong*. I was genuinely surprised.
>I’m a political junkie
Me too.
>Before I voted, I think I did my due diligence.
I’m sure you did. You’ve always seemed like a wise fellow to me.
> I just think you should stop demeaning other people’s choices.
Where the heck did I demean anyone’s choices?!
Unlike all elections before this one, I find deciding this one excruciatingly difficult.
jeather
I voted without reading the platforms (and I still have not), and this is why:
1 – I live in a completely safe riding (~60% Liberal), so my vote is vanishingly unlikely to affect anything.
2 – I know where various parties fall, approximately, on the issues, and where I fall in relation to them, and I am only close to two parties (NDP, Green); nothing in their platforms is going to change this.
3 – I think one way to drag the Liberals left and end their rightward drift is to vote for a party that is left of them.
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Kate
Last August, the city promised to create modular mini houses for the homeless, putting some on Louvain West and some in the Hippodrome area. But heavy snow meant a delay and the project is now promised for this summer.
TVA put the image above on their news front page. I find it hard to believe the city plans anything so quaint. Something like functional barracks is more to be expected (and could be perfectly fine).
TVA is also reporting on the return of encampments to Notre‑Dame East.
Ian
Quaint as it may be, that’s a garden shed on wheels.
The CTV version shown in the video is a small portable, like what construction sites use as breakrooms. Grim, but more functional.Chris
Seems like the opposite of grim to me. Grim is living in a tent, under a bridge, with no plumbing.
Kate
CBC radio mentioned there would be laundry on site, and some kind of support group type arrangements for the residents. They didn’t mention whether there would be communal dining. But people aren’t given a bed and left to their own devices.
It’s a practical admission that it isn’t only children and old people that might need constant support to get by. We don’t like admitting this.
Ian
@chris grim as compared to a cute little wagon. We don’t need to play reductio ad absurdum.
Blork
I don’t know if the wagon in the illustration is what they’re going to use, or if it’s just for illustration purposes (likely the latter). But little houses like that are very popular in the “tiny house” movement that was big a decade ago and which is still alive but in decline as the reality of living in such a small space sets in for people.
The hip “tiny house” versions are adorable. Very compact, with everything inside designed for maximum efficiency and cuteness. Note the use of the word “hip” as this is a phenomenon from the hipster era (remember that?) where everything was highly curated and just so.
There’s no way that’s what the mini-houses for the unhoused will be like, but hopefully they will at least be well designed for maximum efficiency and comfort under the given constraints, which can make living in a such a small space tolerable.
Kate
I found some of the tiny house coverage annoying. There was one item, I think in the Gazette, that praised a woman with a tiny house somewhere in the West Island. As you read on, you realized this “house” was in the back yard of her parents’ full‑size house, which was right there if she wanted to do laundry or any real cooking. What she had was a cute privacy module in the grounds of a family wealthy enough to host it. Not much use for most of us.
Ian
My brother has a garden shed big enough that he insulated it and uses it as a studio. I had no idea I should have congratulated him on his second home.
Joey
The same people who adore tiny houses heap scorn on small condos.
Jonathan
I adore tiny homes and don’t heap scorn on small condos
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Kate
Montreal has many disused older buildings which could be converted for residential purposes, but in 2006 Quebec adopted stringent seismic guidelines which render repurposing too expensive in most cases for anyone to take them on.
DeWolf
Interesting. Considering we are in a pretty active seismic zone it makes sense to have stringent standards, but the story notes that this only applies to new construction and a change of use in old buildings, which means very few people in Quebec are spending time in buildings that meet the seismic standards.
It’s a bit of a double standard when you can renovate a century-old building without bringing it up to code but you can’t convert a century-old dormitory for nuns into apartments for regular people without spending tens of millions to meet these very exacting seismic requirements. Given the potential for new housing (and for saving historic buildings from decrepitude) it seems like a good idea to exempt heritage buildings from this.
Ian
Also following the old construction adage “if it stood this long, it will likely keep standing”.
Kevin
We may be in an earthquake zone but only something very poorly built would be susceptible to a quake here.
It’s odd that our standards for tremors are so high considering that other standards (like for roads) are some of the worst on the continent.Kate
I seem to recall the brick façade dropping off an older Plateau row house during one of our occasional Richter 4 shakes, but nothing worse.
In 1732, we had what’s been rated retrospectively as a 5.8 magnitude quake but nothing like it since. Of course, that’s a blink of an eye in geological time.
And then our buildings can fall down for no reason at all.
Ian
I’ve seen the brick facing fall off Plateau buildings after a heavy rain, that’s not much of a metric.
Orr 12:51 on 2025-04-21 Permalink
I’ve been looking lately to see Ahuntsic’s otters. No luck so far.
Ian 17:38 on 2025-04-21 Permalink
I’ve seen an otter in the ile de la visitation park – are there other spots?
Kate 18:46 on 2025-04-21 Permalink
I saw some pawprints in the snow in Île de la Visitation Park in February. They were not cat feet, didn’t look like fox. Now maybe I’m thinking they were made by an otter.
dwgs 09:21 on 2025-04-22 Permalink
I have seen foxes more than once on the streets of upper Westmount.
Kate 10:18 on 2025-04-22 Permalink
I haven’t been up to Summit Woods in a long time, but I’d imagine they might be a good place for foxes to have their lairs.
walkerp 11:56 on 2025-04-22 Permalink
I had an incredible fox sighting yesterday at the Jewish cemetery. He came trotting out with a dead squirrel, walked through a couple of rows of gravestones and then found a spot and started eating. I was maybe 30′ away. An incredible juxtaposition of beauty and horror. He was a gorgeous red with black legs, very healthy, looked at me directly once or twice but didn’t seemed threatened. I could see the red blood on his snout. He crunched away and I could hear the bones cracking at one point and see him trying to get down long entrails. After about 10 minutes, he took the rest of the carcass and moved on. A crow had come and was screeching near him, not sure if that was part of his reason to leave. After he was gone, I checked out the eating spot and there was some specific guts left that I couldn’t identify, but very cleanly separated.
Kate 13:51 on 2025-04-22 Permalink
The crow was lurking for the leftovers.