Montrealers return to work after city was hit by COVID-19 – Montreal | The Canadian News

Montreal residents are hitting the downtown pavement once again, bringing a much-needed economic boost to a city that has been smothered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recent survey by the Montreal Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce (CCMM) reveals that 61 percent of Montréal’s have returned to work. Twenty-nine percent have returned full time; 32 percent part-time.

“There are very, very few people who return more than three days a week,” Michel Leblanc, executive director of CCMM, told Global News.

A new database published by real estate brokerage and consulting firm Avison Young illustrates that Montreal is among the top 10 cities in North America for office foot traffic, according to The vitality index.

Montreal suffered greatly during the pandemic, as many employers closed their office doors to all employees for more than a year.

But as vaccines began to surge, downtown universities began to open up and the retail and hospitality sector in Montreal began to see an increase in volume.

This has led to an economic recharge that the city desperately needs.

Some are concerned about the threat of the Omicron variant and whether the return to work could be compromised.

But Jean Laurin, the managing director of Avison Young in Montreal, is confident that many employers have put in place strong sanitation measures and guidelines to welcome employees safely.

“You want to make sure you follow the health guidelines so you don’t put anyone at risk,” Laurin told Global News.

Montreal’s commercial vacancy rate remains at 15 percent, according to Luciano D’Iorio, Quebec regional president of CDNGLOBAL, a real estate brokerage and advisory firm, which remains higher than the pre-pandemic period.

But D’Iorio says investors are hedging their bets and buying commercial buildings at record levels despite the pandemic.

“They know this is maybe a temporary problem and they are seeing it in the long term and they are investing in cities,” D’Iorio told Global News.

Many just hope that the move back to work is not a fragile change and that the momentum will continue well into next year.