Here are some stereotypes about Montreal that are simply not true

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When you’re new somewhere or have never visited at all, it’s easy to make tons of generalities about a place and its people.

Montreal, of course, is no stranger to these misconceptions and stereotypes. But every once in a while you hear one that’s so absurd that you can’t help but laugh.

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Here are some of the more eccentric and entertaining assumptions we’ve stumbled upon.

“Everybody smokes”

While you’re bound to see some cigarette smoke dancing around in the streets of Montreal, it is not nearly as prevalent as people say it is. In fact, a 2017 study conducted by the University of Waterloo concluded that smoking rates in provinces like Newfoundland, Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan are actually higher than in Quebec.

See data table below with 95% confidence intervals.

University of Waterloo

“It’s always cold!”

This stereotype is often applied to Canada as a whole. And while Montreal winters are not for the faint of heart, we do in fact have seasons. It is normal for summer days to surpass 30° celsius here. Temperatures also increase dramatically during heatwaves which this city is no stranger to.

“Nobody speaks English”

Quebec is a French province within a bilingual country that speaks English. Confused? You’re not the only one.

The truth is that while all of Montreal’s road signs and billboards are in Quebec’s official language, the people are not. According to Statistics Canada, more than half (53%) of Montreal’s citizens speak both English and French.

“People are bad drivers”

Montreal has a national reputation for being home to countless bad drivers. While our potholes and slippery winter roads are no picnic by car, according to InsuranceHotline.com Montreal does not even crack the top 15 Canadian cities with the highest collision rates!

In case you were curious, here they are:

Collision Claims Frequency Rate

North York, Ontario 7.1%, Scarborough, Ontario 7.1%, Brampton, Ontario 7.1%, Gloucester, Ontario 7.0%, Maple, Ontario 7.0%, Ajax, Ontario 6.9%, Halifax, Nova Scotia 6.9%, Thornhill, Ontario 6.8%, Milton, Ontario 6.7%, Ottawa, Ontario 6.6%, Pickering, Ontario 6.6%, Toronto, Ontario 6.6%, Richmond Hill, Ontario 6.6%, Whitby, Ontario 6.6%, Edmonton, Alberta 6.5%.

“There’s a lot of crime”

While Montreal has a bit of a reputation when it comes to organized crime, the city itself is quite safe for tourists and locals alike.

For context, on Numbeo’s updated global crime index, of the 459 international cities on the index, there are a total of 45 Canadian cities listed. Cities like Toronto and Vancouver finished in the 257th and 295th spots respectively. Montreal finished way behind them in 361st place.

“People live underground”

Tourists often flock to the city eager to see our “underground city.” Many of them probably liken it to the lost city of Atlantis and are disappointed when they realize the 33-km pedestrian network is basically just a shopping mall.

The tunnels between complexes are pretty darn convenient in the winter, though.

“They have a rich history, great food, and the best festivals”

Our research was unable to disprove this claim. Therefore, we have determined that it is factual.