Montreal is sharply reducing the cost of terrasse permits for downtown restaurants and caf\u00e9s in an effort to make the option more financially viable and help revitalize the city\u2019s core. <\/p>\n
Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada announced the measure on Thursday alongside downtown restaurant owners.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMontreal is a better city because we have terrasses,\u201d Martinez Ferrada told reporters. \u201cWe don\u2019t want the cost of the permit to be an obstacle.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Restaurant owners have long complained permits to set up a terrasse on the public domain run into the tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the size, the municipal property evaluation and duration of the permit requested.<\/p>\n
![\"Restaurant](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0417-city-terrasses_302622202.jpg\")
Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada, right, speaks with Le Pois Pench\u00e9 restaurant owner Imad Nabwani and Sandra Ferreira, general manager of the Ferreira Group, after announcing new rules for restaurant and bar terraces at a press conference in Le Pois Pench\u00e9 in Montreal on Thursday, April 16, 2026. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
Under the new program, restaurants in the downtown core will now pay $1.14 per square foot of terrasse space, while those on the outskirts will pay $0.56 per square foot. The rates are in addition to a $150 base fee.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The city cited the example of a restaurant on Ste-Catherine St. W. that previously paid $11,000 for the season and will now pay $1,400.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The new pricing will be in effect until 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a major reduction that will have a direct impact,\u201d said Martinez Ferrada, who is also the mayor of the Ville-Marie borough. \u201cWe have a lot of construction sites (downtown)\u00a0\u2026 it\u2019s important we add measures that make restaurants want to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mayor was joined for the announcement by Ferreira Caf\u00e9 general\u00a0manager\u00a0Sandra Ferreira.<\/p>\n
Ferreira made headlines two years ago in what became known as \u201cterrasse-gate,\u201d when fire prevention officers ordered four Peel St. establishments to clear their packed terrasses<\/a> during Grand Prix weekend over fire code breaches.<\/p>\n \u201cI am ashamed for my city,\u201d Ferreira said at the time.<\/p>\n Ferreira said Thursday she has put the ordeal behind her and feels the city\u2019s relationship with downtown restaurateurs has improved since.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very happy to see things are changing in the right direction,\u201d she said, adding she views the new measure as a \u201cgesture of openness and communication.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Asked about the Grand Prix incident, Montreal police chief Richard Liebmann said the department has shifted toward a more collaborative approach with restaurants over the past two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPublic safety is our No. 1 priority and always will be,\u201d Liebmann said. \u201cBut instead of using repression, we\u2019re doing it in a more collaborative way \u2014 and with much better communication.\u201d<\/p>\n