Potholes in Montreal are ‘catastrophic,’ says mayor

Montreal’s mayor is calling the potholes dimpling the city’s streets “catastrophic,” saying it’s the worst year since 2018.

According to data released by the city Monday, there have been an unprecedented 4,200 resident reports to 311 since Jan. 1 for potholes alone – about one-third of the reports the city received for potholes in all of 2025 and about half of the number it received in 2023.

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Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada admits the city is struggling to keep up.

At a news conference Monday, Martinez Ferrada said municipal workers are trying to stay on top of them, but extreme cold weather and temperature changes this winter have led to much of the damage.

The city is currently prioritizing the most dangerous sections of road.

“We have an issue on equipment. We have an issue on capacity, because the numbers, that you’ve seen, are humongous. So right now we’re trying to do the urgent ones that we know that we have right now,” said Martinez Ferrada.

She added that the city’s focus is on fixing as many potholes as possible as they arise, and then plans to work on a strategy for the spring to address the issue more broadly.