The increase in the number of graffiti in Montreal is not just an impression. In three years, the number of reports to 311 has jumped by almost 45%, according to city data.
Posted at 2:23 p.m.
In 2021, authorities processed 1,250 reports related to graffiti. Last year, they received more than 1,800. An increase had already been observed in 2022, with 1,700 reports, then 1,650 in 2023.
Unsurprisingly, it is in the heart of Montreal, in Ville-Marie, that the most graffiti are recorded, with 395 reports last year alone, a figure which also follows an upward trend. Followed by Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, with 269 last year, Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (260), Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie (235) and Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (147). ).
These figures may only represent the tip of the iceberg, as many graffiti go unreported. That said, a tag can be reported multiple times.
In response to our questions, the City of Montreal claims to have “a zero tolerance policy towards graffiti”, especially those that are considered hateful. The tags are then deleted “as soon as we are informed,” assures a spokesperson, Hugo Bourgouin, in a statement sent by email.
Year in and year out, Montreal spends an average of $50 million on cleanliness, which includes a dedicated brigade, but also the removal of urban tags and the maintenance of public murals.
The context has changed
Earlier, Thursday, cartoonist Michel Rabagliati denounced that his mural at Bouquinerie du Plateau had been vandalized and covered with graffiti, in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal. The affair once again highlighted the significant challenges linked to cohabitation between muralists and graffiti artists in the metropolis and elsewhere in Quebec.
“It really has become like the Wild West. I find that since the pandemic, it’s scary, it’s everywhere. We will have to draw a line at some point,” Mr. Rabagliati then argued, calling for “education” among graffiti artists.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The mural painted by Michel Rabagliati near the Bouquinerie du Plateau was vandalized.
Elizabeth-Ann Doyle, the co-founder and executive and artistic director of MU, an organization dedicated to mural art, is second in this sense. “We have been in business for 18 years, and frankly until before the pandemic, we very rarely saw this kind of vandalism. In the past, there was a code of ethics and respect for religious, historical monuments and works of art in the graffiti world,” she recalls.
“Since 2020, confinement has meant that the city is freer for graffiti, with fewer citizens and fewer surveillance as well,” adds Mme Doyle.
Throughout the metropolis, graffiti management is a district responsibility. The latter are therefore responsible for defining their annual budget and the expenses related to graffiti removal.
“The resources allocated to graffiti removal fluctuate from one borough to another, depending on their own reality. In the Ville-Marie borough, cleaning teams removed 39,565 m² of paint in 2024. This represents an annual budget of nearly a million dollars devoted to removing graffiti in the borough. , says Mr. Bourgouin.
As a general rule, most of Montreal’s 19 boroughs offer a free graffiti removal service on private property. People must request it online or by email at 311. In the case of hateful graffiti, you must go through the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
