Under the scorching sun and standing on the hot sand at popular Verdun Beach during the city’s first heat wave of the summer, the borough mayor called for developing better water access across the city.
Céline-Audrey Beauregard said the beach was designed to accommodate about 350 people per day, but that it welcomes up to 3,500 visitors on a daily basis. They come from all over the city, with the borough estimating 80 per cent of beachgoers come from outside Verdun.
“I believe there should be more access to water systems elsewhere in Montreal to alleviate the pressure here in Verdun,” she told reporters Thursday.
River McDougall makes a diving reception while playing catch with friends at Verdun Beach. Evan Buhler / Montreal Gazette
Beauregard pointed to 2023 findings from the Fondation Rivières that there are 57 sites on the Island of Montreal where the water quality would allow for swimming.
“I would encourage the creation of additional access points,” to Montreal’s waterways, she said.
Asked if Verdun Beach could be expanded along the St. Lawrence River, the mayor said it would require “investments that are too large.” What could change is adding more staff and expanding the opening hours, but “not in terms of infrastructure” to the beach itself, which is about 100 metres wide.
“We’ve already reinvested some money in the infrastructure recently, but that was to improve drainage and water management,” she said, adding the beach’s sand was also replenished in the last year. “So, we’re already constantly adjusting our finances or reinvesting.”
If the city explores other options for water access, Verdun “could step forward for perhaps simpler and more affordable infrastructure like the open-water pools we see in Beloeil,” Beauregard said.
“But in relation to this public space, the urban beach in Verdun, it’s designed this way,” she added, referring to its current layout.
Other swimmable beaches in Montreal include Cap St-Jacques in the West Island and Jean-Doré Beach at Parc Jean-Drapeau.
Water safety measures
“We can’t fence off or board up all the riverbanks, so we’re really focusing on the access points set up by the borough,” says Patrick Léveillé, head of the Verdun sports, recreation and social development. Evan Buhler / Montreal Gazette
The Verdun borough is also reminding people that the only safe space to swim in the river is the designated zone at the beach and only during operating hours when lifeguards are present.
The safety campaign comes after a deadly summer in 2025, when three people drowned in the area. Last month, a swimmer died just hours before the Verdun Beach opened for the season and Montreal police said the man was outside the designated swimming area.
As part of the measures, the borough improved signage with the rules at the beach, launched social media videos with local influencers and held a safety awareness day with Quebec’s Lifesaving Society and Montreal police’s nautical squad Thursday.
“(The signs) were revised. There were signs before, but now there are new pictograms. We tried to be more concise too, so that people can quickly see what’s safest,” Patrick Léveillé, head of the sports, leisure and social development division at the borough, told reporters.
A Montreal police officer patrols the perimeter of the swimming area at Verdun Beach. Evan Buhler / Montreal Gazette
Asked about Verdun’s shoreline outside the beach, the borough confirmed signs will also be replaced near the Natatorium to prohibit swimming. A structure that people used to dive off was also removed from the area, the mayor said.
“In areas where we know people tend to swim more frequently, we’ll be changing the signs to ‘no swimming.’ We’ll be changing the signage at the boat launch docks in the coming days,” Léveillé said.
“We can’t fence off or board up all the riverbanks, so we’re really focusing on the access points set up by the borough.”
Sgt. Karim Akesbi says the SPVM’s nautical squad is on waterways every day, but that the team is on “high alert” during heat waves.
“The truth is, it can be seen on land, it can be seen on water, too,” he said. “People gather on the banks of bodies of water; people lose their heads. Alcohol consumption combined with the heat and dehydration leads to behaviours that wouldn’t occur under other circumstances.
“It’s more normal, so yes, we’re on high alert. Unfortunately, statistics prove that on these days, more things happen on the water and along the banks.”
Verdun Beach was closed after a drowning in June. Allen McInnis / Montreal Gazette
Akesbi stressed the importance of staying within the designated swimming zone at the beach, and repeated the Lifesaving Society’s recommendation to avoid swimming alone.
“History has proven that all the incidents that have happened here have occurred outside the (designated) perimeter,” he said, referring to drownings. “Yes, there is a current, there are issues related to the risks of a waterway like the river, but all along the river, all the municipalities live with that reality.
“We can’t stop the current, we can’t close the river; it’s a natural waterway that is dear to us, but we were fortunate enough to adapt it here to benefit from it, so we are careful about that.”
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