‘We want venues to thrive’: Montreal looks to modernize noise bylaw to protect nightlife, ease tensions

The City of Montreal aims to protect nightlife and reduce conflict by updating how sound is measured and regulated.

The City of Montreal is looking to turn up support for its cultural spaces by rethinking how it handles sound.

The Plateau-Mont-Royal borough is proposing changes to its bylaw with the aim to strike a better balance between residents and the city’s vibrant nightlife. The updated approach would shift how sound is measured and tolerated, using a system that takes into account both ambient noise and specific frequency levels.

Ericka Alneus, a member of Montreal’s executive committee responsible for culture, said the current noise bylaw is decades old, dating back to the 1970s.

“Our downtown is denser, our neighbourhoods are livelier, and we need regulations that reflect that,” said Alneus.

The proposal introduces a concept known as spectral emergence, a measurement tool already in use in cities like New York and Melbourne. Rather than treating all sounds the same, it breaks noise into three frequency bands (low, medium and high) and compares it to the environment’s background noise.

Between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., venues would be allowed to exceed the ambient noise level by up to four decibels (dB). That limit would drop to three dB overnight.

“This isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach,” Alneus said. “What’s acceptable in a dense area like Boulevard Saint-Laurent may not work in a quieter neighbourhood. This system adapts to the environment and gives us the right tools and data to make fair decisions.”

The rule change would also redefine what counts as a nuisance. Under current law, any music heard outside a venue could be flagged as such, while the new rules would set clearer, location-specific thresholds.

While bars and restaurants would still be subject to maximum dB levels, cultural venues like performance spaces would benefit from the more flexible, frequency-based model.

The move comes after months of controversy surrounding the closure of La Tulipe, a beloved music venue in the Plateau Mont-Royal. The space shut its doors in September 2024 after repeated noise complaints and a court ruling.

“That was a heartbreaking moment that should never have happened,” said Alneus. “That case made it clear we needed to act — not just with one-off solutions, but with a broader policy to protect nightlife and make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Reaction on the street has been mixed. Olivier Laliberté said he supports the changes, especially if they help preserve institutions like La Tulipe and Divan Orange, another venue that closed after noise disputes.

“They brought so much joy and culture to the neighbourhood,” he said. “Those places are part of the community, and we need to protect that, especially for young people and new artists.”

Other Montrealers, like André Blais, are less convinced. “If this is going to reopen La Tulipe, then maybe,” he said. “But if it’s just making more noise everywhere, I don’t think that’s the answer because we already have enough of this.”

Manon Schalk, who lives in the Ville-Marie borough, said she sees both sides.

“It’s annoying if you live right above a venue or even near one,” she said. “But at the same time, if these complaints are shutting down places people really love, maybe it makes sense to raise the limits.”

The bylaw revision is a key piece of Montreal’s new nightlife policy, adopted last fall. It enshrines the principle of “agent of change,” meaning newcomers to a neighbourhood — such as new event venues — must adapt to existing soundscapes rather than forcing long-standing establishments or residents to adjust or shut down.

Public consultations are expected to begin this summer, with the borough inviting feedback from residents and businesses in affected areas. The proposal will be tabled at the Plateau and Ville-Marie borough councils in June, with hopes that other districts will eventually align their rules.

For Alneus, the goal is not to pick sides but to create space for coexistence.

“This is a bylaw of collaboration,” she said. “We want venues to thrive but we also want people to sleep. With better tools and clear guidelines, we can do both.”