The Montreal Saint-Patrick's Day Parade celebrates 200 years on March 16, 2025. It's an event rich in culture and history.
For two centuries, Montreal has celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a parade.
This weekend marks 200th edition of the parade and organizers are gearing up for the around 120 groups and some 3,000 participants.
On Sunday, Danny Doyle will wear the grand marshal sash.
“My father brought us up to be proud to be Irish, Canadian-Irish,” said the Erin Sports Association president. “I actually went to visit my mother, [and] told her. She’s 98 years old. We both cried for 20 minutes.”
Doyle will lead the longest-running parade of its kind in Canada that started in 1824.
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Irish dancers at the St. Patrick's Day Parade Irish dancers have always been a fixture of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Montreal. (UISM)
1970 pic from St. Patrick's Day Parade St. Patrick's Day Parade in Montreal is celebrating 200 years in 2025. (Ken Quinn)
Pierre Trudeau at the St. Patrick's Day Parade Former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau attended the St. Patrick's Day Parade. (UISM)
Justin Trudeau attends the St. Patrick's Day Parade Justin Trudeau celebrates the 2017 St. Patrick's Parade in Montreal. (UISM)
Pipers at the St. Patrick's Day Parade Bagpipers at the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Montreal. (UISM)
Men wearing the St. Patrick's Day Parade 'uniform' The standard 'uniform' of the St. Patrick's Day parade is the black long coat and top hat. (UISM)
Horses at the St. Patrick's Day Parade Horses were once commonplace at the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Montreal. (UISM)
St. Patrick's Day Parade 2022 St. Patrick's Parade was a return to the celebration after the pandemic. (UISM) (Kevin Raftery)
St. Patricks' Day Parade in years past The St. Patrick's Day Parade in Montreal has taken several routes through the city's downtown core. (UISM)
Former prime minister Paul Martin at the parade Former Canadian prime minister Paul Martin at the 2001 St. Patrick's Parade in Montreal. (UISM) (Peter McCabe)
The standard get up for the parade The classic 'uniform' at the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Montreal is the black long coat and top hat. (UISM)
Gilles Duceppe and others at parade Former Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe attends the 2001 St. Patrick's Parade in Montreal. (UISM) (Peter McCabe)
180 year anniversary of the parade In 2004, the Montreal St. Patrick's Parade passed 180 years as a signature event in the city. (UISM) (Brian Switzer)
St. Patrick's Day Parade queen in 1977 The St. Patrick's Day Parade in Montreal has celebrated many 'queens' in the past. (UISM)
St. Patrick's Day Parade in Montreal The St. Patrick's Day Parade in Montreal has been a signature event in the city since 1824. (UISM)
2004 St. Patrick's Day Parade The 2004 St. Patrick's Parade in Montreal. (UISM) (Peter McCabe)
St. Patrick's Day dignitaries Dignitaries at a past St. Patrick's Day Parade in Montreal. (UISM)
Parade photo from 1961 The 1961 St. Patrick's Parade in Montreal. (UISM)
Laurentian Irish Society in Montreal The Laurentian Irish Society is one of many celebrated at the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Montreal. (UISM)
St. Patrick's Day Parade at the turn of the century The 2000 St. Patrick's Parade in Montreal. (UISM) (Peter McCabe)
St. Ann's Parish at the 2001 St. Patrick's Day Parade St. Ann's Parish at the 2001 St. Patrick's Parade. (UISM) (Peter McCabe)
1957 Queen of the parade 1957 St. Patrick's Parade queen. (UISM)
United Irish Societies of Montreal (UISM) historian Ken Quinn said the event highlight’s the city’s rich Irish history.
“The Shamrock is on the City of Montreal flag, but we’d like to remind people that there’s there’s more to us than just the shamrock on the flag,” said Quinn.
The UISM took over the parade in 1928 and have been organizing it ever since.
The parade was cancelled twice during the COVID-19 pandemic and restarted in 2022 with a much more muted affair featuring no floats.
“We angered a lot of people, but it was important for us as a community to just parade amongst ourselves as much as possible,” said Quinn, adding that it felt like organizers were taking the parade back to its roots.
Originally, it was a Catholic procession. Then, floats were added, and secular groups soon overtook the presence in the parade and the influence of the church is no longer there, said Quinn.
“With the quiet revolution and the decline of the influence of the church, there are less and less Catholic parishes in the parade and more and more multicultural and community groups,” he said.
Gerald Tremblay, Justin Trudeau, Jean Charest Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay, left, Liberal Party candidate Justin Trudeau, centre, and Quebec Premier Jean Charest at the 184th consecutive St. Patricks Day Parade in Montreal on Sunday, March 16, 2008. (Graham Hughes / The Canadian Press) (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)
The parade features Irish dancers, entertainment and well-known faces, including personalities from CTV News and its predecessors.
St. Patrick's Day Parade, Members of the crowd look on during the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Montreal, Sunday, March 17, 2024. (Graham Hughes / The Canadian Press) (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)
Attendance typically ranges from 250,000 to 500,000 people.
“It all depends on the weather,” said Quinn. “We’ve had years like 2012 where the weather was 23 degrees Celsius. There were a lot of people on the street that day.”
