Global Montreal is celebrating its 25th anniversary as your source of local news and a pillar in our English-speaking community.
Our team has had the privilege of informing and being with you during major breaking news across the province to stories in your backyard.
“It was one of the most exciting things any of us had ever done — launching a new television station,” said Karen Macdonald, news director and station manager of Global Montreal.
“Now, looking back we can all be very proud of the stories that we have told and the positive difference we have been able to make in our community.”
Here is a look back at some of the stories and events that have shaped our newsroom and team since 1997.
Ice storm
Who doesn’t remember where they were during the 1998 ice storm? The massive and fatal weather event struck Quebec, along with Ontario and the Maritimes, in early January. Dubbed the “storm of the century” by some, the heavy winter rain left roads and power lines covered in ice — and left thousands in the dark.
Summit of the Americas
Quebec City was the scene of violent protests during the Summit of Americas in 2001. Roughly 20,000 protesters headed to the provincial capital for the event. A wave of destruction saw a number of protesters and bystanders taken to hospital with injuries from rubber bullets and tear gas.
Dawson College shooting
The mass shooting at Dawson College in downtown Montreal killed 18-year-old student Anastasia De Sousa and wounded 20 others on Sept. 13, 2006. A lone gunman opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon, before he was killed in a police gunfight.
Global News was later recognized with an RTNDA award for coverage of the fatal shooting.
Cédrika Provencher goes missing
The disappearance of nine-year-old of Cédrika Provencher in the summer of 2007 led to one of largest police searches in Quebec history and sent shockwaves across the province. She went missing in Trois-Rivières while on a bike ride.
Posters with her face remained plastered across Quebec for eight years. In December 2015, her remains were found by hunters in a wooded area in the Mauricie region.
Student protests take centre stage
A string of protests paralyzed the streets of Montreal for many months in 2012. CEGEP and university students across Quebec walked out of classrooms protesting tuition hikes.
The student uprising, dubbed the Maple spring, has a mixed legacy, with memories of peaceful marches but also intense clashes with police.
Quebec elects its first woman premier
The election of Pauline Marois, the Parti Québécois leader and first woman to lead the province, made history in 2012. Her party ousted Jean Charest’s Liberals after a summer of student protests.
But what was supposed to be a celebratory night turned violent when a shooter opened fire at the venue in downtown Montreal — where Marois was delivering her victory speech — leaving one person and seriously injuring another.
Lac-Mégantic rail disaster
The derailment of a runaway train turned the small town of Lac-Mégantic into an inferno in the early hours of July 6, 2013. The explosion killed 47 people and decimated a large of part of the downtown area.
Valérie Plante becomes mayor of Montreal
The 2017 historic win of Valérie Plante made her the first woman to be elected mayor of Montreal. The underdog in the race and the leader of Projet Montréal took the city’s top job after her surprise defeat of experienced incumbent Denis Coderre.
— with files from Global News’ Kalina Laframboise, Anne Leclair, Dan Spector, Felicia Parrillo Amanda Connolly and the Canadian Press
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