Montrealers will have to live with cluttered sidewalks a little longer. The city says it needs at least a week to clear away the mountains of furniture, mattresses and household junk left behind by the July 1 moving rush. Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada urged residents to take ownership of what they abandon at the curb, warning that dumping items in the street can carry a fine of up to $4,000. The mayor said unwanted furniture can be donated or dropped off at one of the city’s seven ecocentres, which accept mattresses, appliances, construction materials and hazardous household waste such as paint, batteries and aerosols — but the trash pile is not the answer. Keeping Montreal clean, she said, is a collective effort, and she wants people who move to feel responsible for what they leave behind. Extra crews have been sent to some boroughs to deal with the mess, and the city has had to rent trucks from private companies to keep up with collection. Martinez Ferrada blamed the equipment shortage on previous administrations, saying they failed to fund the tools needed to deliver basic services. Evictions on the rise The mayor also flagged a troubling trend behind this year’s moving day: a sharp increase in evictions. According to figures from housing board the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM), 71 households had to be put up in hotels — double the number from July 1, 2025. The mayor’s office says 35 per cent of those households were evicted for not paying rent, 70 per cent are people living alone, and a third are over the age of 60. Another 219 households are receiving support from the OMHM, down from 272 last year. Martinez Ferrada said the numbers point to a bigger problem, adding there is still a lot of work to do to protect tenants’ right to stay in their homes. - With files from Noovo Info’s Lila Mouch and The Canadian Press
