The Montreal Metropolitan Community (CMM) is criticizing the Quebec government for delaying the publication of the new flood zone maps and asks that they come into force on Saturday as scheduled. The CMM has been working with the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP) for several years to update the flood zone maps within its territory in accordance with a new regulatory framework and methodology laid out by the government following record-breaking floods that hit the province in 2017, 2019, and 2023. The first set of maps, covering areas along the Mille Îles River, the Prairies River, Lake des Deux Montagnes, Lake Saint-Louis, the St. Lawrence River, the Saint-Régis River and the Saint-Pierre Rivere were scheduled to be released in spring 2026. Ministry delays publication However, email exchanges between CMM and the ministry, sent to CTV News, show that the ministry postponed the publication of the maps twice. The ministry told CMM in an email the new maps would be published July 25 and then Aug. 1. The ministry says the maps have now been postponed to an unspecified date. “Due to circumstances beyond our control, the publication has been postponed to a later date, which has not yet been determined. We will contact you as soon as a new deadline has been set,” the email to CMM says. According to the CMM, 11 municipalities located in the first set of maps that were supposed to come into effect have flood defences on their territory and have 24 months to have them recognized. Delaying publication would delay the studies and actions required to obtain this recognition, the CMM says. “We really want to remove all of the uncertainty and confusion, so that the new flood maps will finally be made public, and we could move forward with the other steps, like working on adaptation and resiliency with the different cities, says Brent Edwards, head of flood risk management at the CMM. According to the CMM, publication of these maps would allow municipalities to implement various measures, including performance assessment of dykes and other protective structures, identifying improvements, preparing plans and specifications, issuing calls for tenders, adapting buildings and infrastructure, and supporting funding applications. “We’ve been actively working on the flood maps with the government, with the municipalities, and basically the information exists, and we’d like it to become publicly available just to eliminate all of the confusion surrounding the flood maps and uncertainty,” Edwards says. Edwards says the new maps reflect the areas flooded in the three major floods in Quebec, but also indicate areas at risk of flooding, taking into account climate change. “In 2017, when the major floods happened in the Montreal area, one of the major takeaways was there are a lot of areas that unfortunately had no flood maps or the flood maps that were very out of date,” Edwards says. Clarity for residents Edwards says without the new maps, new construction could be approved in flood zones, putting incoming residents at risk. “Having the new flood maps would prevent us from building in areas that are covered by the new flood maps,” Edwards says. “But then the other part is working with the municipalities to make sure the areas are more flood-resilient (...) and what are the solutions that we could put forth to ensure that those areas are protected.” Denis Martin, mayor of the City of Deux-Montagnes, a municipality that was affected by the floods, says the mapping reduces uncertainty among residents. “Maintaining the Aug. 1 deadline would finally provide municipalities with the tools they need to take concrete action to reduce risks, protect living environments and provide adequate support to their residents,” the mayor wrote in a statement. The Quebec government commissioned CMM to map the waterways and flood zones of the metropolitan region, which includes 14 water bodies. It began flood zone mapping following the 2017 flood. Since the adoption of the Flood Protection Plan (PPTFI) in 2019, the Quebec government has been working to develop a new methodology, which was formalized with the approval of a Methodological Guide in 2025. Before this, certain areas of Montreal didn’t have flood zone maps for their territories, and no standardized methodology was in place. Currently, older maps remain in use until new maps are published. CTV News reached out to the ministry for a comment but received no response.
