Montreal fireworks festival's future shows will go on, air quality-permitting, organizers say

Organizers of Montreal's international fireworks competition — the International des Feux Loto-Québec — say they will consult with Montreal Public Health before each of the remaining seven shows, after being forced to cancel the opening show of the 2023 season, scheduled for Thursday.

With air quality in Montreal so poor due to smoke from forest fires in northwestern Quebec, they sought the recommendation of the public health authority for the Montreal region. 

"We're in new territory here in Montreal, and we're learning how to manage the situation," Dr. David Kaiser, deputy medical director for Montreal Public Health, said at a news conference Thursday. 

"In Montreal, the fireworks shows are associated with a peak of particle concentrations."

He said cancelling Thursday's event — a tribute to boy and girl bands that is not part of the official competition — simply made sense.

Last year, the competition's fireworks contributed up to 379 micrograms of pollutants per cubic metre of air in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood, according to Montreal's most recent report on air quality. The heightened air pollution lasted up to four hours after the end of each show, the study indicated. 

Sophie Emond, the president of La Ronde, the Six Flags amusement park on Île Sainte-Hélène which organizes the competition, said the plan is to go ahead with the next seven shows, air quality-permitting.

"We're going to proceed on a case-by-case basis, one week at a time," said Emond.

The competitors — this year from Ukraine, Canada, Belgium, the U.S., Portugal and Finland — put a lot of work into their shows, she said, so decisions to cancel any of them will not be made lightly. 

Emond says there is no question at this moment of cancelling the entire festival, as was the case in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said this is the first time in 37 years that a fireworks show has had to be called off at La Ronde due to air quality concerns. 

Those who had tickets for tonight's show can contact La Ronde and apply their ticket toward future shows, according to the park's website. 

Air quality data only allows Public Health to make a reliable projection for the next 24 to 48 hours, so Kaiser said there is no way to predict whether Ukraine's entry, scheduled for July 6, will be able to go ahead.

The bulk of air pollution in Montreal comes from traffic, industrial emissions and, in winter, wood-burning stoves, Kaiser said.

Kaiser also suggested commuters swap their vehicles for public transit, to minimize their impact on the city's poor air quality. 

"We're in smog days," he said. 

Canada Day fireworks nixed, too

Kaiser said organizers of events that contribute to air pollution need to be aware of the health implications of poor air quality.

Organizers of Canada Day festivities in Montreal and Laval have already taken heed of that advice.

They announced Thursday afternoon they are cancelling their fireworks displays, planned for July 1. 

"In light of what Quebec is experiencing at the moment, we made the decision not to add more pollution on top of pollution, said Stéphane Guertin, the head of Tandem Communications, which is promoting both city's events.

Despite their impact on air quality, Emond believes fireworks are still relevant. She says she's talking to others in the industry about the problem.

"But for us it's evident there's a future for fireworks," she said.