Mayor urges Montrealers to shop locally this holiday season

Bid to Montrealers to shop local Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante is calling on Montrealers to shop locally this hoiday season to help keep merchants afloat.

MONTREAL — The mayor of Montreal wants you to shop local this holiday season.

At a news conference Thursday morning, Mayor Valerie Plante announced six new measures and $6 million in funding aimed at enticing Montrealers to visit shopping arteries and buy from local merchants when checking off their shopping lists.

“I am giving us the collective challenge of taking advantage of the holiday season to save Montreal's commercial vitality,” she said. “It’s not the online shopping giants that need our help, but local businesses do.”

The new measures include:

Plante said she is concerned about the massive drop in people visiting the downtown area, particularly because of office workers who have made the shift to working from home. She reminded shoppers that there’s an alternative for those who don’t want to visit shops in person.

“We can support local business, and you can do it physically, but you can also do it online,” she said.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business was quick to applaud the new measures.

“We are seeing the buying local movement gain momentum. As the holiday season approaches, we must all participate in growing this wave of solidarity that will help save our small businesses and contribute to economic recovery,” said Francois Vincent, Quebec vice-president of the organization.