The NYE fireworks show in Montreal's Old Port has been cancelled

Montrealers hoping to start the new year with a bang may be disappointed come Dec. 31; the annual fireworks show in the Old Port has been cancelled for the second year in a row.

Montrealers hoping to start the new year with a bang may be disappointed come Dec. 31; the annual fireworks show in the Old Port has been cancelled for the second year in a row.

According to the nonprofit that organizes the fireworks, Montréal en Fêtes, the decision boils down to several factors -- including a lack of funding from the city.

In November, Montréal en Fêtes announced the permanent cancellation of its free winter activities, which in previous years included a New Year's Eve party in the Old Port, complete with live entertainment and a dazzling fireworks display.

"The COVID-19 pandemic, inflation of production costs, challenges related to the winter vacation season, public and private financing issues motivated this decision, marking the end of an era of festivities and large-scale free gatherings in December," reads a notice from Montréal en Fêtes published last month.

Speaking to CTV News on Friday, the chair of the nonprofit's board of directors, Dimitri Soudas, went into more detail.

"Unfortunately, one of our funding partners was not at the table anymore. The Government of Canada was there, the Government of Quebec was there, the private sector was there, but the Grinch was the Plante administration," he said.

According to Soudas, Mayor Valerie Plante's administration declined to contribute to this year's events as it had done previously. He said the funding would have amounted to "a few hundred thousand dollars."