The City of Montreal presented its budgetary recovery plan on Thursday amid a global economic slowdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante says while the city is in good financial shape to weather the crisis, with a $251-million surplus from last year, the crisis will bring significant shortfalls.
Executive committee president Benoit Dorais said the city’s revenues will take a big hit by safety measures and closures, amounting to as much as $538 million. “It is clear that our government’s finances will be affected by the global economic downturn due to the pandemic.” Dorais said an expected slow-down in real estate transactions could lead to a revenue shortfall of between $104.8 million and $294.1 million.