Montreal Snow Removal Costs: Season-by-Season Trends and What's Driving the Budget Up

Snow removal is one of Montreal's largest municipal expenses. The city's snow budget has climbed steadily over the past decade, and the forces pushing costs higher show no sign of slowing down. Here's what the numbers look like, where the data comes from, and what it means for Montreal homeowners.

The Current Budget

For the 2023-2024 winter season, Montreal's snow removal budget reached an estimated $197 million, roughly $10 million more than the previous year. That figure represents approximately 3 percent of the city's entire annual municipal budget (CBC News, Montreal to Spend Nearly $200M on Snow Removal).

To put that in perspective, Montreal spends roughly $1 million for every centimetre of snow that falls during a typical storm. The average snowstorm drops about 20 cm, which translates to a four-day loading operation costing approximately $20 million per event (CBC News, How Montreal Takes 300,000 Truckloads of Snow Off the Street).

How Costs Have Trended Upward

Snow removal costs have been climbing for years, but the rate of increase has accelerated recently. In some boroughs, contract costs jumped by as much as 100 percent year over year. The city's overall property taxes rose by an average of 4.9 percent in 2024, and rising snow removal expenses were cited as a primary driver (CBC News, Montreal to Spend Nearly $200M on Snow Removal).

Here's a general trajectory of the budget over recent years, based on published reports:

These figures are compiled from CBC News reporting and City of Montreal budget disclosures. For the most granular, transaction-level data, the city publishes detailed records through its open data portal (see below).

What Is Driving Costs Higher

Four major factors are pushing Montreal's snow removal spending upward:

1. Labour Shortages

Finding enough workers, and especially truckers, to staff snow operations has become one of the biggest challenges. According to city officials quoted by CBC, the shortage of truckers is a key cost driver because it forces contractors to raise wages and offer overtime to fill shifts (CBC News, Montreal to Spend Nearly $200M on Snow Removal).

2. Equipment Costs

The cost of snow-removal trucks and machinery has, in the words of city officials, "literally exploded" in recent years. COVID-19 disrupted global supply chains, and the conflict in Ukraine further constrained the availability of parts that had previously been manufactured there. These factors combined to make new equipment purchases significantly more expensive.

3. Inflation and Contract Renewals

As existing snow removal contracts expire and come up for renewal, contractors are pricing in higher fuel costs, insurance premiums, and general inflation. Borough-level contracts are negotiated independently by each of Montreal's 19 boroughs, and some have seen dramatic increases when old contracts are replaced with new ones reflecting current market conditions.

4. Climate Change and Freeze-Thaw Cycles

Montreal is experiencing more frequent freeze-thaw cycles, which create additional plowing and salting demands even outside of major snowfall events. Snowfall patterns have also shifted, with more precipitation concentrated in January and February rather than being spread evenly from November through March. This compression forces contractors to deploy all available equipment simultaneously, resulting in overtime costs and operational bottlenecks.

Montreal's Open Data on Snow Removal

The City of Montreal publishes detailed snow removal contract and transaction data through Canada's Open Government Portal. This dataset is one of the most transparent municipal snow-spending records in Canada.

What the data includes:

• Contract details for snow removal by borough and season.
• Transport transaction records showing individual truck trips from blowers to snow disposal sites.
• Seasonal data going back multiple years, allowing trend analysis.

The data is updated each season and is freely available for download at open.canada.ca. It is also accessible through the city's own open data platform at donnees.montreal.ca.

That level of transparency is unusual for a Canadian city. It lets residents and journalists verify spending claims and track how efficiently their tax dollars are being used.

How Montreal Compares to Other Canadian Cities

Montreal's snow budget dwarfs those of other major Canadian cities, partly because of its size and partly because of its policy of hauling snow to depots rather than simply pushing it to the side of the road.

For comparison, here are reported figures from other cities during similar periods:

• Edmonton: Budget reaching approximately $68.5 million by 2026 (CBC News).
• Winnipeg: Budget of $36.26 million in 2023, though actual spending reached $87.18 million in 2022 due to a particularly harsh winter.

Montreal's approach of loading and hauling snow, rather than leaving it piled along curbs, is more expensive but necessary given the city's density, narrow streets, and the sheer volume of snow that accumulates over a season.

What This Means for Homeowners

Rising municipal snow removal costs flow directly into property tax bills. Montreal homeowners are paying more each year for the public side of winter maintenance. On the private side, the cost of hiring contractors for driveway and walkway clearing has followed a similar upward trend due to the same labour shortages and equipment inflation.

One way to reduce your winter maintenance burden is to design your property with winter in mind from the start. Walkways with proper grading and drainage develop less ice, and driveways designed with snow storage areas cut down on clearing time. The material choices matter too: pavers and stone rated for freeze-thaw durability hold up longer and need fewer repairs than cheaper alternatives.

If you want to build or redesign outdoor spaces that minimize winter headaches, call Montreal Paysagement Pro at 514-900-3867. We focus on residential landscaping that performs in all four Montreal seasons.

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Sources:

• CBC News, Montreal to Spend Nearly $200M on Snow Removal
• CBC News, How Montreal Takes 300,000 Truckloads of Snow Off the Street Every Winter
• Open Government Portal, Snow Removal Contracts and Transactions
• Donnees Montreal, Open Data Platform
• Global News, Montreal to Spend Nearly $200M on Snow Removal
• Montreal City Weblog, Snow Removal Budget Reaches $200M