This is Montreal

4.9 (38)
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Dive into the Montreal stories you’re curious about and the issues you want to understand. From Laval to Longueuil and across the island, host Ainslie MacLellan explores the complexities of our colourful, vibrant and sometimes frustrating, but always interesting city. Every Thursday.

3D AGO

The kid who wouldn’t give up his kirpan

Gurbaj Singh Multani is just playing basketball when the ceremonial dagger that symbolizes his Sikh faith falls onto the playground of his Montreal school. The next thing the 11-year-old knows, his principal is giving him an ultimatum: hand over his kirpan, a symbol of his Sikh faith, or leave school. This week, This is Montreal shares this episode of the CBC podcast See You in Court. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Sonali Karnick take us through the case of Multani v Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys. It sparks a heated public debate over multiculturalism in post 9/11 Quebec, with grown-ups hurling slurs at the tween, and ends with a landmark ruling for religious freedoms in Canada. Check out more episodes of See You in Court

28 min
2025-12-18

Pablo Rodriguez resigns as Quebec Liberal leader, capping off a wild season in provincial politics

After weeks of turmoil, Quebec Liberal Party leader Pablo Rodriguez told his caucus he was resigning. It’s the latest twist in a tumultuous session at the National Assembly. So where does this leave the Liberals? Did other parties end the year (mostly) unscathed? Which issues made the biggest impact? CBC National Assembly reporter Cathy Senay dives into a big year in Quebec politics.

21 min
2025-12-11

Is ‘rat running’ by drivers putting Montreal pedestrians at risk?

If you're stuck in traffic as a driver, you might start looking for another route. Maybe you already know a short cut down a side street, or maybe your GPS even suggests one. Most drivers wouldn’t think twice about cutting through a residential area to avoid traffic. But among transportation researchers, this is sometimes known as rat running. And a recent coroner’s report into the death of a 7-year-old girl is recommending that Quebec do more to discourage drivers from doing it.

20 min
2025-12-04

How can Montrealers be kinder to each other?

Make the Season Kind is CBC’s yearly campaign focused on food insecurity. It’s also a celebration of community spirit, generosity, and kindness. But what does it mean to be truly kind? CBC’s Rebecca Ugolini explores this question with dedicated volunteers, a writer, and a psychologist to find out how we can be kinder to others and to ourselves.

21 min
2025-11-27

Why is it so tough to get a family doctor in Quebec?

The Quebec government is locked in a heated dispute with doctors over its new law that changes how doctors are paid and how they take on patients. The province says the goal is to improve access to care, but doctors say it will do the opposite. So how do we make sure people can see a doctor when they need one?

21 min
2025-11-20

Montreal's long lost golf course is in a place you wouldn't expect

You might not know it if you take a stroll through Maisonneuve Park today, but 50 years ago it was something completely different: a championship golf course that hosted the likes of pro golfers Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. CBC’s Douglas Gelevan tells the story of how the course became a park, after a pitched battle that pitted an unusual coalition of golfers and nature lovers against a larger-than-life mayor with Olympic-sized ambitions.

29 min
2025-11-13

Strike or no strike, the STM may be in for a bumpy ride

STM maintenance workers have ended their strike, but some experts say Montreal’s transit system still has a difficult road ahead. We’ll hear more about the financial situation transit is facing, and why some say we need to rethink how we are paying for it.

17 min
2025-11-04

What’s next for Montreal’s new mayor?

Montreal’s mayor elect Soraya Martinez Ferrada is promising change on everything from housing and homelessness to transportation and construction. CBC journalists Sudha Krishnan and Ben Shingler break down what the new mayor is hoping to accomplish and some of the challenges her administration might face.

16 min

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4.9

out of 5

38 Ratings

Impressive!

2024-07-06

Paule25

Love everything about it: subjects, host, sound effects. So cool to (re)discover Montreal.
Local and informative

2024-04-04

jonquille

I am loving this series on our fair city. Many of the questions asked have also been things I’ve always wondered about, and some I never considered but are still interesting! Particularly, I liked the episodes on transit and recycling. I can’t wait for the tap to pay transit fare to happen for the STM (ARTM? I don’t even know what that is! I guess that’s what makes it complicated!) but from the recent episode, it sounds like we are a long ways off from that setup still. Thanks Ainslie and team for the good investigative work on this podcast series. Je t’aime Montréal
Yassssss

2024-02-01

dswdrff

Love this. Part investigation, part soundscape, part love letter to one of the iconic Montreal delights that unifies us all. So much went into This! So good. Can’t wait to hear the next one!

Dive into the Montreal stories you’re curious about and the issues you want to understand. From Laval to Longueuil and across the island, host Ainslie MacLellan explores the complexities of our colourful, vibrant and sometimes frustrating, but always interesting city. Every Thursday.