Summary#
Montréal city council awarded two contracts for tree planting, watering, maintenance and replacement from 2026 to 2029. The work is part of the City’s existing Programme de renforcement de la canopée (Canopy Strengthening Program); city staff say the program aims to grow the tree canopy and enrich biodiversity.
- 7574479 Canada inc. received lot 1, covering 519 trees in Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montréal-Nord and Pierrefonds-Roxboro.
- Terrassement Technique Sylvain Labrecque inc. received lot 2, covering 855 trees in Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Verdun, Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension and Saint-Laurent.
- The public call for tenders received eight bids in total, with seven for each lot. The City awarded each lot to its lowest compliant bidder.
- The council also authorized separate budgets for contingencies and changes in quantities, and ordered an evaluation of both companies’ performance.
What it means for you#
- Residents: The decision funds planting and care for 1,374 trees on public land in the named boroughs. It does not directly change residents’ rights, fees or taxes.
- City services and contractors: The Service des grands parcs, du Mont-Royal et des sports supervises the work with the boroughs. Contractors must meet the tender specifications; the decision summary says daily penalties apply for deviations from them.
- The two companies: They must provide and plant the trees, water and maintain them, and replace certain trees. Watering and maintenance continue through November 2029, excluding winter.
Money#
The council authorized maximum spending of $2,456,590.55, taxes included.
- The two contracts total $1,965,272.44: $735,096.11 for lot 1 and $1,230,176.33 for lot 2. These contract amounts are taxes included and exclude contingency and quantity-change budgets.
- The council also authorized $196,527.24 for contingencies and $294,790.87 for changes in quantities, both taxes included.
- City staff’s estimates were higher than the lowest compliant bids for both lots. The supplied material gives no information on the funding source.
What is unclear#
- The supplied material does not explain what specific events would justify using contingency funds or changing quantities.
- It does not give a breakdown of the trees by planting site within each borough.
- The supplied material gives no publicly available information about the funding source or any expected longer-term savings or returns.
Case for#
- The contracts cover both planting and several years of care and replacement, rather than planting alone.
- The City received multiple bids for each lot and chose the lowest compliant bidder. The winning bids were below the City’s estimates.
- The two-lot approach assigned work across seven boroughs and 1,374 trees.
Case against#
- The authorized total includes nearly $491,318 for contingencies and quantity changes; the supplied material does not detail how that money would be used.
- The next-lowest compliant bid was 2% higher for lot 1 and 1.4% higher for lot 2. The price gap was narrow, so the lowest bids leave little price difference from the next bids.
- The supplied material does not give the funding source or explain how the City will report on the use of the extra budgets.