Montrealers got a last-minute break on Friday evening when Société de transport de Montréal (STM) announced that the strike planned for November 15-16 has been cancelled. Regular metro and bus service will run this weekend as scheduled.
The confirmation came via STM’s own post on X.
It was then echoed by Montreal’s newly-elected mayor, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, who thanked all parties for reaching an agreement in principle.
“I want to emphasize the intensive negotiation work carried out by the drivers’ union and the STM in recent hours to reach an agreement,” Martinez-Ferrada wrote. “As I have always said, the best agreements are those negotiated at the table.”
The tentative agreement was reached late Friday after days of tense negotiations between the STM and the union representing over 4,500 bus drivers, metro operators and station agents.
Because of the deal, the strike notice that had planned a total shutdown of service this weekend has been lifted.
According to a press release issued by the STM, the mass transit system still needs its Board of Directors to ratify the deal, and the union will hold a general assembly to approve the contract.
Instead of facing no bus or metro service on Saturday and Sunday, riders will be able to use the regular network as usual. This comes as a relief after the STM’s maintenance workers, who had been on a separate 28-day strike since the start of the month, suspended their walkout earlier this week.
While this deal covers bus drivers and metro staff, negotiations with the maintenance workers’ union are still ongoing. The STM says it remains committed to mediation and reaching an agreement that protects financial stability and operational flexibility.
Riders are encouraged to check stm.info and the STM’s official X account for service updates. But as of now, routine schedules should apply this weekend unless otherwise announced.
