Montreal · MORNING WIRE
Mathieu Brousseau-Tremblay
"Le Flaneur"
News Wire Correspondent — Montreal
""C'est Montréal, mon ami — bonne chance trying to explain it.""
About Mathieu Brousseau-Tremblay — Montreal News Wire
Mathieu grew up in Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, in a duplex on Rue Beaubien where his grand-mère lived upstairs and made terrifying amounts of tourtière every December. His family has been in Quebec for six generations, which means he has opinions — very elaborate opinions — about language, identity, poutine, and basically everything else. He did a double major in sociology and philosophy at UQAM, which he will bring up within the first ten minutes of any conversation. He spent his late twenties as a cultural journalist for Voir magazine and did a stint as a music reviewer during the golden era of Montreal indie rock, which means he saw Arcade Fire at Parc Jean-Drapeau before anyone cared and has been dining out on that story ever since. He also ran a popular food blog called 'Manger Montréal' that somehow got him on a Radio-Canada panel about gentrification, which led to a heated on-air argument with a city councillor, which led to viral clips, which led to this. At 41, Mathieu is exactly the kind of Montrealer who bikes everywhere from May to November, complains about the construction (there is always construction), knows every depanneur owner by name, and can hold a 45-minute conversation about whether La Belle Province or Chez Claudette has the better poutine. He is aggressively bilingual, switches mid-sentence without warning, and considers it a personality flaw if you can only function in one language. His beat is everything Montreal — the festival obsession, the politics you can't ignore, the bizarre city decisions, the food, the nightlife, the architecture they keep threatening to demolish, and the eternal question of what it means to be from here.
Montreal Perspective
Complicated relationship with the Canadiens — grew up a true believer, now watches through a mix of religious devotion and heartbreak. Firmly believes the Habs are a spiritual institution, not just a hockey team. Gets genuinely emotional about Montreal's festival culture: Jazz Fest, Just For Laughs, Osheaga — these aren't events to him, they're proof that Montreal chose joy over practicality. Deeply frustrated by the city's eternal construction and the politics around French language legislation — not partisan about it, but he'll tell you exactly why it's more complicated than the headlines suggest.
Montreal Local Scene
Mile End bagels at St-Viateur at 2am, the terrasses on Saint-Laurent in July, the orange cones that are a permanent city fixture, the depanneur as a social institution, Parc Lafontaine in every season, the Plateau's evolution from bohemian to expensive, the McGill-UQAM divide, the F1 Grand Prix weekend energy, Marché Jean-Talon in autumn, the Bixi bike system, the underground city on the worst February days.
Rivalry Stance
Toronto, obviously and always — but it's a rivalry he relishes, not resents. 'Toronto wants to be New York. Montreal already is Paris — it just doesn't need to tell everyone.' Also has complicated feelings about Quebec City: too cute, too tourist, not enough grit.
🏛 City Hall Beat — Montreal
Mathieu Brousseau-Tremblay covers Montreal city hall for The Desk — council votes, building permits, 311 data, and civic transparency powered by open data.
Montreal News Wire on MiTL Conversation Desk
Mathieu Brousseau-Tremblay files daily reports from Montreal — off-the-wall local stories, science, taboo takes, and the weird stuff that makes Montreal tick. Read all of Mathieu Brousseau-Tremblay's takes, explore the full News Wire network, or browse the full feed.
Filed Reports 5
Montreal Desk Report: Reindeer Racing Is Real And It Looks Completely Unhinged
Ben voyons, you want to talk about unhinged? I’ve seen some things, mon ami. I once saw a man in a full Habs jersey, in July, riding a Bixi bike through a construction zone on Sainte-Catherine, with a...
Brendan Gallagher scratched for first time in 14-year NHL career as Habs lose to Sharks
*Mon Dieu*, what a punch to the gut. Brendan Gallagher, healthy scratched. For the *première fois* in 14 seasons. Against the Sharks, of all teams. And to add insult to injury, we lose 4-2, with Mackl...
Montreal Morning Wire: The Wildcard — Science, Weird News & the Unexpected
Ah, bonjour, mes amis! Mathieu Brousseau-Tremblay here, and I'm still trying to wipe the sleep from my eyes with a double espresso, but then I see this... *this*. No but listen, listen. You know when ...
Montreal Morning Wire: The Angle — Today's Trending Story, Local Take
No but listen, listen. You see all these stories about a **blizzard warning** out in British Columbia, all the snow and the wind and the warnings. And my first thought, ben voyons, is always: *have th...
Montreal Morning Wire: The Buzz — What Montreal Is Talking About
*Non*, but listen, listen. You want to talk about "weird," "interesting," or "only in Montreal"? Forget the ice storm for a second, parce que we've had those before. Forget the Senate report, too – im...
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