Montrealers can expect to see a heavier police presence as a mix of provincial holiday celebrations and Habs fever festivities gets underway Thursday.
Quebec’s Fête nationale coincides with the Montreal Canadiens heading home for Game 6 against the Vegas Golden Knights — all in a city that is gradually reopening after being cooped up due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a Facebook post, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante wished Quebecers a happy Fête nationale.
She agreed that with the Habs game coinciding with the biggest holiday in Quebec, there was indeed cause for celebration.
Plante, however, urged Montrealers to celebrate responsibly.
“Two great occasions that we will celebrate with passion, but also with respect, in order to allow all Montrealers to celebrate in safety and to avoid overflows,” she wrote, adding city staff and Montreal police would be patrolling the city.
Montreal police spokesperson Manuel Couture explained that there will be officers monitoring parks in different neighbourhoods and the downtown area.
“It’s going to be beautiful outside, lots of people will on vacation,” he said. “Tomorrow is a holiday so there won’t be anyone at work and terrasses will be open.”
“So it’s a cocktail that lets us think there will be lots of people in downtown Montreal and that’s why we will have more police officers in the field.”
The Habs have the chance to eliminate the Golden Knights at the Bell Centre, meaning the team could be heading to the Stanley Cup final.
The exciting playoff run has brought crowds to the downtown core in recent weeks — and as local bars and restaurants are able to welcome patrons again, there have been large celebrations in Montreal.
As a result, Couture said there will be more police officers outside the Bell Centre starting in the afternoon, throughout the game and afterwards.
The goal is to ensure fans stay safe if they spill onto the streets and to enforce COVID-19 public health measures, if necessary, he added.
“If the Habs win, people are going to be happy about that,” he said. “And they can decide to go on the streets and we will have to close the streets just to protect the people.”
Couture could not provide an exact number of police officers who will be on patrol, but said the plan is to adapt to the crowd. If celebrations take off, roads may be blocked off to traffic as a precaution.
Retired Montreal police inspector André Durocher agreed the force will have to be flexible and adapt quickly as the evening will come with several challenges.
What makes things even trickier, according to Durocher, is that unlike other years, there isn’t one massive Fête nationale celebration in one location, but rather several smaller gatherings happening across the city.
“It’s one heck of a juggling act,” he said of the work awaiting commanders in the field.
Durocher explained that resources aren’t unlimited and once police intervene in one area, they’re not available for something else.
“They still have to be concerned that there will be people calling 911 one for other things, for domestic violence, for theft, et cetera,” he said.
However, Durocher expressed his confidence in the Montreal police department’s ability to handle the situation.
“Things may not be perfect at the SPVM, but there’s a lot of experienced people trying to do their best,” he said.
For his part, Durocher said he plans on staying out of the way and taking in the celebrations and the Habs game from the comfort of his own home.
— With files from Global News’ Dan Spector
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