A year in review: Quebec faced severe weather and powerful social movements in 2024
CBC
As Quebec left the pandemic well in its rearview mirror, it faced another 12 months of remarkable and challenging events. From severe weather disruptions to vibrant community movements, 2024 was another year to remember.
There were winter storms that downed trees and cut power, but also summer flooding that caused historic damage.
Global tensions were felt close to home as the Israel-Hamas war continued, sparking protests, demonstrations and encampments in Montreal. The unhoused set up encampments of their own, and those too were taken down and residents displaced.
Throughout the highs and lows of 2024, CBC was there, telling your stories with photos, videos and articles. Below are some of our top photos of the year.
One of the first big winter storms left more than 200,000 Quebec households in the dark and shut down Montreal's light-rail network. Violent winds and heavy rain pummeled much of the province overnight on Jan. 29.
Hydro-Québec crews were out working to get the lights back on well into the following day.
Deer overpopulation was back in the news again throughout the year, starting with the problem in Montreal's east end where city Opposition party leaders demanded action. Deer were taking shelter in Pointe-aux-Prairies nature park — a 261-hectare park on the eastern tip of the island — with the population jumping to around 125. On the city's South Shore, Longueuil, Que., finally got the green light to cull deer in Michel-Chartrand park after years of legal delays.
Also in February, a new Black community group in Montreal said Quebec's housing agency is putting its project in jeopardy by dragging its feet. The group had plans to develop a mixed-use affordable housing project in the city's Saint-Michel neighbourhood.
A Quebec court temporarily prohibited protests near several Jewish institutions in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough following back-to-back demonstrations outside community buildings in March.
According to an injunction granted March 6, protests were banned within 50 metres of the Federation CJA building and the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, which requested the injunction. The injunction was later extended.
April kicked off with a spring storm to remember. Hydro-Québec teams were working hard on April 1 to restore power to customers after heavy, wet snow swept through Quebec.
Around 600,000 customers were affected at one point when strong winds started gusting and heavy snow began accumulating on tree branches, causing them to hit power lines, said Hydro-Québec.
Across southern Quebec, time seemed to stop on a Monday afternoon in April as everybody looked up at the sky.
Also in April, the health authority in the Laurentians said it was investigating after Normand Meunier, who had been paralyzed in both arms and legs since 2022, sought medical assistance in dying (MAID).
A surgeon who used to work at Flin Flon's hospital says residents in the northwestern Manitoba city have been left in a precarious situation after more than five years without general surgery services.
Moubarak Bokhit Ali's memories of his home country of Sudan are punctuated by flashes of violence.
The man behind the Moose Jaw health centre that has claimed “a 100 per cent success rate in stopping the progression and in restoring function of people with ALS” says a recent CBC story about his company is evidence that he is seen as “a direct threat to the ALS drug industry.”
The Neighbour to Neighbour Centre’s trans and non-binary grocery program, which offers free food and household products to community members once a month, began with a simple question: how do we get free menstrual products to trans people without being awkward?
Bill Van Vugt is living a life that's unlike most other people his age, and one which has seen him turn a longtime hobby into championship gold.
The provincial government is taking steps toward improving Alberta's lucrative sand and gravel industry.
As medical labs across Ontario remain understaffed, one medical association is calling on the province to expand labs’ capacity for student placements by funding positions to train them.
The year wrapping up means it's getting closer to tax season, and the federal Community Volunteer Income Tax Program will once again be offering free filing services for Islanders with modest incomes.
It's not so easy to remove a politician from office between elections in Canada.
Natasha Martin-Mitchell says creating art gives her a sense of calmness that acts as a medicine during stressful times.
Gabriel Vilardi scored twice and star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 24 saves in his first game back from injury to power the Jets to a 5-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday that snapped Winnipeg's three-game losing skid.
Alberta’s auditor general Doug Wylie says his office's budget will be $1.5 million short next fiscal year.
British Columbia has filed a civil claim against e-cigarette giant Juul Labs, alleging the company developed highly addictive nicotine products and fuelled youth nicotine addiction with “deceptive marketing practices.”