This is Montreal

​In the ​spring of 1940, Nazi Germany had gone on the offensive. France and other European countries had been invaded and Britain could be next. So​ Britain devised a plan to secretly ship its wealth out of the country to keep it from Nazi hands and help finance the war. A top secret plan was born and one downtown Montreal basement would play a starring role. Producer Craig Desson brings us this story.

The city of Montreal’s new administration is promising to do more to accelerate the pace of building affordable rentals, even as it softens the requirements for private developers to invest in or build social housing. Host Ainslie MacLellan sat down with Caroline Braun, executive committee member in charge of housing for the city at the end of January to hear more about her administration's vision for how to get housing built.

If Canada’s women’s hockey team has developed to where it is today, and if professional women’s hockey in Montreal has become a reality, it’s in large part due to Daniele Sauvageau. CBC journalist Melinda Dalton traces Sauvageau’s journey from a hockey-loving kid in Deux-Montagnes who wasn’t allowed to play, to being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Watch the video documentary here.

The City of Montreal is planning to review some bike paths across the city, following through on a campaign promise by Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada. The mayor says the goal is to evaluate mobility and safety for all and that, at this point, the city isn’t removing any bike paths. But some are skeptical that this review is the right focus when it comes to road safety in Montreal.

Throughout most of the 20th century, you could find downhill ski runs on and around Mount Royal, complete with tow ropes, T-bars and even a 100-ft long ski jump! More than 100 years ago, ski-jumping competitions in the city would draw crowds of thousands of people. In this episode from the archives, we hear why downhill skiing disappeared from the heart of Montreal, and why not everyone agrees over whether it should come back. This episode was first released March 6, 2025.