Miguel Roque from Portugal escapes the humidity by reading in the shade of Lafontaine Park in Montreal on Monday, June 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
Miguel Roque from Portugal escapes the humidity by reading in the shade of Lafontaine Park in Montreal on Monday, June 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
MONTREAL - Health officials in Montreal are still working to tally the total number of people who died from heat-related causes since Sunday, when sweltering temperatures took over the city.
The city's public health department has so far confirmed three reports of heat-related deaths since then, up from one earlier this week. The agency says it has also received reports of at least two cases of heat stroke.
Montreal saw record-breaking temperatures of 34 C on Sunday, with the mercury peaking just as high on Monday and Tuesday.聽
The agency continues to ask Montreal ER doctors to report all cases of suspected heat-related deaths or heat stroke.
Paramedics serving Montreal and Laval, Que., said that between Monday and Wednesday they received anywhere from 10 to 15 calls for heat stroke per day.聽
Montreal鈥檚 public health department said the discrepancy between its official count and the number of heat stroke-related 911 calls comes down to corroboration. 鈥淭he volume of these kinds of calls is used as a public health indicator, but they are not all confirmed cases of heat strokes,鈥 spokesperson Danny Raymond said.聽
Meanwhile, the total number of 911 calls Urgences-sant茅 paramedics received between Monday and Wednesday was higher than usual.聽
鈥淎t the hottest time of the day, during the heat wave, we saw an increase of about 15 to 20 per cent above our usual volume,鈥 spokesperson Jean-Pierre Rouleau said.
He said those suffering from health problems that tend to get worse with extreme heat took up a large percentage of calls. 鈥淭he increase mainly resulted from medical problems like loss of consciousness, diabetes, and heart and respiratory problems,鈥 he said.聽
"Listen to your body," Rouleau said. "If the signs and symptoms of heat stroke begin to appear, like nausea, dizziness, or weakness, it's important you get out of the heat, take a break, and go to (an) air-conditioned place."
For homeless people used to going to the day shelter by Montreal's downtown Cabot Square, that wasn't possible. The air conditioning unit there has been broken for weeks now, Resilience Montreal's executive director said, making conditions 鈥渦nbearable鈥 for clients and staff.
He blamed the situation on lack of core funding from government. 鈥淏asic needs services for the homeless (are) just not really a priority for the provincial government,鈥 David Chapman said. 鈥淚t's still not evidently a priority for the City of Montreal either.鈥
He鈥檚 since called in a contractor to fix the unit, but says he still doesn鈥檛 have the money to pay for the expense, which he said could cost up to $5,000.
鈥淲hen it's excessively hot day after day after day, if you don't fix the problem, your staff and your clients go insane,鈥 he said.聽
This report by 好色tvwas first published Aug. 14, 2025.