Susan Moss

Montréal’s participatory budget: Report on the first edition (2020-2021)

Last updated June 12, 2025

Reading time: 2 min

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Participatory budget

The city has set aside a budget of $25 million for the completion of projects submitted and selected by the public. More than 20,000 residents cast their votes to determine which projects will be carried out. Learn more about the winning projects.

Highlights

What ideas could be proposed?

Projects were required to meet the following criteria:

Contribute to accelerating Montréal’s ecological and social transition.
Serve a collective interest (not intended to benefit an individual or a private entity)
Be feasible for the city on public property or on city property
Involve a capital works investment for equipment or urban planning that can be considered sustainable and long-term
Represent a major project valued between $500,000 and $3,000,000

Phases in the development of ideas into projects

Fall 2020

Some 620 ideas were collected.

Winter and spring of 2021

The city sorted and classified ideas based on the main eligibility criteria. This phase made it possible to deem 300 ideas admissible or potentially admissible.

Civil society and city representatives then held workshops and developed these ideas into 63 projects. Lastly, the projects were analyzed to determine their feasibility and estimate their costs. These phases culminated in the establishment of a final list of 35 projects to submit to a vote.

Summer 2021

Merchants and all Montréal residents ages 12 and over were invited to take part in the vote. More than 20,000 people voted to choose which projects should be brought to fruition.

Fall 2021

The seven projects that garnered the most votes were named the winners, for a total investment of $10 million. The city began planning and implementing the projects.

Spring 2022

The total budget allocated to the projects was increased by $15 million, from $10 million to $25 million. The supplementary amounts went towards financing five additional projects, for a total of 12 projects.

Winning projects

The winning projects will contribute to Montréal’s social and ecological transition, while also promoting greening, biodiversity, urban agriculture, and more inclusive environments.