Ecological Transition

Through various initiatives, but also through its Sustainable Development Plan, the Town of Mount Royal contributes to the achievement of the environmental objectives set by the Montreal community and ensures the implementation of initiatives that are beneficial to its residents.

In concrete terms, the Town of Mount Royal's Sustainable Development Plan provides a management framework for the municipal administration, while detailing its orientations, environmental goals and the actions required to meet them.

Consult the Local Sustainable Development Plan 2021-2025

Residual materials management 2023 report (French only)

A look back at the 2021-2025 Local Sustainable Development Plan

In 2021, the Town of Mount Royal adopted a Local Sustainable Development Plan. It was the fourth edition, and it was ambitious. Among the key priorities were active and sustainable mobility and sustainable governance of the Town through the procurement, urban planning, and recreation departments. The Town wanted to lead by example.

Five years later, here is a new portrait of the Town, its mobility, and its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, followed by an assessment of the 2021–2025 plan.

Population

The population of TMR grew by 4% between 2018 and 2023, with a similar distribution in terms of gender and age group, with 53% of men and 47% of women. The predominant group is the 45-64 age group.

• Small households of two people or less make up 58% of households in the town.
• Retired people make up 19% of the population.

Mobility Survey

The results of the latest Mobility Perspective survey conducted by the Regional Metropolitan Transportation Authority (ARTM) in 2023 are out. This is a great opportunity for the Town to prepare its next sustainable planning initiative, considering the latest data on the transportation habits of TMR residents.

It should be noted that the survey was conducted after the commuter train service was interrupted for REM construction work. This is an important point because the data is often presented in perspective with the 2018 data, before the train service was suspended.

It should also be noted that the survey was conducted in the wake of the pandemic, when the world of work changed dramatically with the emergence of teleworking.

With these factors in mind, here are a few observations:

• In 2018, most Townies travelled to the south of the island (neighbouring boroughs) and downtown, whereas in 2023, the main destinations are in the north-west of the island.
• The largest generator of travel in TMR is Rockland shopping centre.
• The number of people making at least one trip per day has decreased by about 10%, with the largest decrease among full-time workers, down 16%.
• Between 2018 and 2023, public transport lost modal share to active modes. Cars dominate with 50% of trips and 62% of kilometres travelled.

Good news for the environment:

• The number of cars per household went from 1.61 in 2018 to 1.39 in 2023. These figures also include a 3% increase in the number of households without a car and a 10% decrease in the number of households with more than one car.
• The percentage of journeys of less than 1 km has risen from 12% to 16% of all trips made by Townies. 
• For trips within the territory, the modal share of bicycles has increased by 5% and the share of car use has decreased by 9%. 

The last three statistics are significant. Yes, teleworking reduces the number of trips and the need for a second car. But from a land-use planning perspective, the fact that 16% of journeys are less than 1 km long gives hope for a 100% modal shift to modes of transport that are lighter than the car.

The latest statistic supports the development of active modes of transportation. The better the facilities, the more people will be tempted to try these efficient modes of transportation for short trips.

GHG Inventory

Our GHG balance sheet is based on an analysis conducted by the Agglomeration of Montreal, which tallied all energy bills for cities and boroughs in the territory and used existing inventories from Natural Resources Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Statistics Canada, the SAAQ, the Régie de l’énergie, and waste data for the Greater Montreal Area. The data was presented in the Carbon Disclosure Project format required by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, of which Montreal is a member.

It should be noted that the GHG reduction target was 30% below 1990 levels In 2020 and is 55% for 2030. This target made it possible to calculate a carbon budget that Montreal can spend between 2018 and 2050 in accordance with the Paris Agreement. This budget is 184,714 kilotons of carbon dioxide equivalent (kt CO2 eq).

The GHG emissions profile can be summarized as follows:

• The main sources of GHG emissions are heating with fossil fuels (oil and gas) and transportation.
• Only sources from transportation and industrial processes and product use (IPPU) have seen an increase in GHG emissions between 1990 and today, with increases of 8% and 54%, respectively. In absolute terms, transportation has the greatest impact, with an increase of 407 kT vs. 286 kT for IPPU.
• In the transportation sector, air travel is the main contributor to the increase in emissions, followed by maritime transport to a lesser extent.

With these increases, Montreal has used up one-third of its carbon budget between 2018 and 2023. Monumental efforts will still be required to comply with the plan.

For Mount Royal, here are the highlights:

• Gas consumption per household for heating is higher than the Montreal average, probably due to the size of homes and the continued widespread use of natural gas appliances.
• Gas consumption by businesses and institutions is relatively low.
• The TMR industrial zone has a very high GHG emissions intensity. The source of these emissions needs to be analyzed, but they are possibly related to industrial processes requiring gas heating.
• For an area located at the centre of the island, the car usage index in Mount Royal is high, possibly related to the withdrawal of the main mode of public transportation since 2020.

Review of the 2021-2025 Local Sustainable Development Plan

The current plan includes 73 sub-objectives divided into 17 objectives and 6 guidelines.

The six guidelines are as follows:

• Improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gases.
• Improve the protection of biodiversity, natural environments, and green spaces.
• Practice responsible resource management.
• Adopting good sustainable development practices in industry, commerce, and institutions (ICI).
• Improving communication with residents.
• Ensuring access to sustainable, people-friendly, and healthy neighbourhoods.

Of these 73 sub-objectives, 18 have been achieved and 24 are in progress.

Among the key objectives that have been successfully initiated or achieved are:

• Objective 1.1 - Promote active and sustainable mobility
  • We have not achieved the plan's sub-objectives, but all the complete street renovations carried out in the last two years and those currently in planning put pedestrians and cyclists at the heart of the design. This can only promote active and sustainable mobility.
• Objective 1.2 - Encourage the electrification of municipal vehicles and optimize the use of the current fleet
  • New vehicle purchases, when the market and bidding processes allow, are electric or, at a minimum, hybrid.
  • Six electric vehicle charging stations have been added to municipal parking lots.
• Objective 1.3 – Reduce the environmental impact of municipal buildings
  • The Town has begun construction on two new buildings that will replace three old buildings: the fire station housing Public safety and Urban planning, the Engineering building, and the Recreation centre. The new buildings will be more efficient and reduce fossil fuel consumption.
  • The Town is working on an energy loop project that will optimize heating and air conditioning in municipal buildings in Danyluk Park and reduce the buildings' energy consumption.
• Objective 2.1 – Protect and enrich the urban forest and biodiversity
  • The Town has partnered with GRAME, which offers turnkey tree planting to TMR residents, as well as the Un arbre pour mon quartier (A Tree for My Neighbourhood) campaign, which allows them to purchase a wide variety of trees at reduced prices.
  • Our arborists make sure that trees are protected on private construction sites.
  • We have a tree policy that promotes and protects our canopy.
• Objective 2.2 – Reduce urban heat
  • White and green roofs have been incorporated into the Town's latest building projects.
  • Private construction regulations have been revised to require white roofs for industrial buildings and soon, for flat and low-slope roofs for residential buildings.
  • In municipal building projects, consideration is being given to the design of parking lots, which may incorporate ecological concepts or a reduction in the number of spaces.
• Objective 3.2 – Optimize various collection services
  • A review of the regulations on waste collection has enabled us to update our practices and make sorting of all materials mandatory for all residential properties.
  • The expansion of organic waste collection is underway in multi-unit dwellings.
  • There was a 10% decrease in waste tonnage between 2020 and 2023, but only a 4.6% decrease between 2020 and 2024, likely due to flooding. In addition, the diversion rate (percentage of residual materials that do not end up in landfills) fell from 61% in 2023 to only 51% in 2024. The Agglomeration's target for 2025 is 70%.
• Objective 3.4 - Improve the management of contaminated soil
  • All sub-objectives were achieved.
• Objective 6.3 - Unify the population
  • The sub-objective was linked to the Age-Friendly Municipality Committee (MADA), and to this end, although not carried out under the auspices of MADA, the Town has implemented several initiatives to support seniors through the recreation department, including help at home.

In conclusion to this assessment, improvements have been made, but there is still a great deal of work to be done to meet the various GHG emission targets and other environmental targets. In 2026, the Town will adopt its next sustainable development plan. This will be an opportunity to refocus, concentrate on the most critical tasks and set ambitious but realistic goals.