Nightclubs and bars in Montreal, Canada could be allowed to stay open for 24 hours as soon as next year, according to a new report from Radio-Canada. The mandatory closing time for Montreal venues that sell alcohol is currently 3AM.
Sources close to the city’s committee on finance and administration told the news outlet that a new 24-hour licensing scheme is expected to be announced in January 2024.
It will begin with venues in Montreal’s Latin Quarter, a neighborhood that was once a cultural hub in the city, but has witnessed an “exodus” of businesses in recent years.
The reported policy is one of 15 new pilot projects introduced across the city, following a $2.1 million investment in Montreal’s nightlife that came in 2022.
The prospect of 24-hour nightlife operations has been strongly supported in the last year by local groups like MTL 24/24, a non-profit dedicated to improving city development by “introducing the night as a new frontier for innovation.” The organization held Montreal’s first-ever 36-hour party in May 2023.
Radio-Canada has also reported that venues would have to work with the Montreal city council to adjust noise level ordinances as a result of the 24-hour policy. They could also be assigned a “maximum number of decibels” depending on venue location.
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