How Montreal Removes Snow: The Full Process from Plow to Snow Depot

Montreal receives an average of 210 cm of snow each year, and clearing it is one of the largest municipal snow-removal operations in the world. Nearly 3,000 workers and 2,500 vehicles are deployed across roughly 11,000 kilometres of roads every winter, hauling away approximately 300,000 truckloads of snow per season. Here's how the entire process works, from the first snowflake to the last truck at the depot.

Stage 1: Spreading Salt and Abrasives

The moment roads and sidewalks become slippery, the city begins spreading salt and crushed limestone. Montreal purchases about 200,000 tonnes of road salt and abrasives each year, stored in 30 municipal garages spread across the island. Crews monitor conditions 24 hours a day during the winter months and pre-treat major roads before a storm hits whenever forecasts allow.

According to the City of Montreal, salt and abrasive spreading is the first response every time conditions become hazardous, regardless of whether a full snowfall event follows (Ville de Montreal, Snow Removal on Sidewalks and Streets).

Stage 2: Plowing

Plowing begins as soon as 2.5 cm of snow accumulates on the ground. The city follows a three-tier priority system:

• Priority 1: Major arteries, hospital and school access roads, express bus corridors, and main commercial streets.
• Priority 2: Collector roads, regular bus routes, and local commercial areas.
• Priority 3: Residential streets, industrial zones, and back lanes.

Plows push snow to the side of the road and onto sidewalk edges, creating windrows that will later be loaded onto trucks. On narrow streets where parking is on both sides, the city may impose temporary parking bans on one side when forecasts call for 15 cm or more of snowfall (Ville de Montreal, Snow Removal on Sidewalks and Streets).

Stage 3: Loading and Hauling

When snowfall reaches 10 to 15 cm, the city triggers a full loading operation. This is the most resource-intensive stage.

Snow blowers advance along the windrows, shooting snow into dump trucks that run alongside. Each truck hauls its load to a designated snow disposal site, dumps it, and returns for another load. The average snowstorm deposits about 20 cm of snow, and it takes roughly four days to clear the city. Each centimetre of snow costs the city approximately $1 million to remove, according to CBC News (CBC, How Montreal Takes 300,000 Truckloads of Snow Off the Street).

About half of the workers involved in loading operations come from the private sector. Roughly 450 workers are assigned to towing alone, moving vehicles that have not been relocated in time.

Stage 4: Snow Disposal

Once loaded onto trucks, the snow has to go somewhere. Montreal operates a network of snow disposal sites, including both open-air depots and sewer chutes:

• Sewer chutes handle about 25 percent of the city's snow. The snow is fed into underground chutes where it mixes with warm wastewater, melts, and flows to the treatment plant in Montreal East. After filtration and treatment, the water is released into the St. Lawrence River.
• Snow depots handle the remaining volume. The largest is the Francon depot, a former quarry in Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension, which receives roughly 40 percent of all the snow collected across the city.

The city also operates disposal sites at Angrignon in LaSalle and Armand-Chaput in Riviere-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles (Ville de Montreal, Snow Disposal Sites).

Borough-by-Borough Management

Snow removal in Montreal is decentralized. Each of the city's 19 boroughs manages its own operations, which is why the pace and timing of clearing can differ from one neighbourhood to the next. Some boroughs contract out nearly all of their snow removal, while others rely more heavily on municipal crews. Progress for each borough can be tracked on the city's snow removal operations map at services.montreal.ca/en/snowremoval/progress.

The Budget Behind It All

Montreal's snow removal budget for the 2023-2024 season reached $197 million, up roughly $10 million from the prior year. Costs have been climbing steadily due to inflation, labour shortages (especially among truckers), rising equipment prices linked to post-COVID supply chain disruptions, and increased freeze-thaw cycles caused by climate change (CBC News, Montreal to Spend Nearly $200M on Snow Removal).

Snow removal now accounts for approximately 3 percent of Montreal's entire municipal budget, and rising costs were cited as a primary driver behind the city's 4.9 percent average property tax increase in 2024.

How Parking Bans Work

During a loading operation, temporary no-parking signs go up on affected streets. Vehicles that remain are towed at the owner's expense. The city provides multiple tools to help residents know when their street will be cleared:

• INFO-Neige MTL app: Real-time notifications when the status of your street changes.
• Snow removal operations map: An interactive borough-by-borough progress tracker.
• 311 Montreal app: The city's general services app, which also sends snow-related alerts.

What Homeowners Should Know

While the city handles public roads and sidewalks, property owners are responsible for clearing their own walkways, steps, and driveways. Ice and snow buildup on private paths is a safety hazard and a liability issue. Choosing the right materials for your walkways and entry steps can make winter maintenance easier and reduce the risk of damage from freeze-thaw cycling and de-icing products.

If you need help preparing your property for Montreal winters, from walkway design to proper drainage, call Montreal Paysagement Pro at 514-900-3867. We help residential homeowners across the island build outdoor spaces that hold up to everything a Montreal winter can throw at them.

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Sources:

• Ville de Montreal, Snow Removal on Sidewalks and Streets
• Ville de Montreal, Snow Disposal Sites
• Ville de Montreal, Snow Removal Operations Map
• CBC News, How Montreal Takes 300,000 Truckloads of Snow Off the Street Every Winter
• CBC News, Montreal to Spend Nearly $200M on Snow Removal
• Snow Removal Progress Tracker