Surrounded by Canadiens jerseys, restaurant owner Alain Creton pours a drink outside Chez Alexandre et Fils in downtown Montreal on Thursday.ROGER LEMOYNE/The Globe and Mail
The mood in Montreal is effervescent.
In the city’s downtown, black-and-white checkered flags fly alongside the Montreal Canadiens’ red, white and blue. Ahead of the Eastern Conference final series opener on Thursday, Habs jerseys dotted the crowd at the Grand Prix festival on Crescent Street.
Hockey may be Quebec’s national sport, but Formula 1 has its own deep roots in the province. This Saturday, Montrealers will flock to the Bell Centre to watch Game 2 in North Carolina, less than 24 hours before the Canadian Grand Prix begins on Notre Dame Island. For some, the excitement is almost too much to put into words.
“Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful,” said Alain Creton, owner of Chez Alexandre et Fils, a Montreal institution on Peel Street at the heart of the action. “Won-der-ful.”
This is the first time a Canadiens playoff run has coincided with the Canadian Grand Prix. To mark the occasion, Habs mascot Youppi visited the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve this week to present jerseys to F1 drivers.
Canadiens fans watch Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final, which Montreal won 6-2, on the terrace of a Drummond Street bar.ROGER LEMOYNE/The Globe and Mail
The last time the Habs made it this far – aside from their improbable pandemic-era advance to the 2021 Stanley Cup final – was more than a decade ago. Meanwhile, Montreal has typically hosted the F1 race in June, but it’s been rescheduled to May starting this year.
That means the confluence of two major sporting events in the city may not be a one-off, said Yves Lalumière, president and chief executive of Tourisme Montréal. To top it off, the Montreal Victoire became the first Canadian team to win the PWHL championship earlier this week, arriving in the city on Thursday with the Walter Cup in tow.
“It’s the beginning of a new era,” Mr. Lalumière said.
Chez Alexandre was already buzzing this week. Mr. Creton stood just inside the door greeting guests, dressed in a blue blazer with a Habs scarf tied around his neck. Every few minutes, he fielded requests from clients about where they might find a humidor (the restaurant has a cigar lounge) and whether he would join them for a shooter (he said he only drinks champagne).
This spot has long been a fixture during Grand Prix weekend, but Mr. Creton said the Stanley Cup playoffs are “the cherry on the cake.” He planned to watch the games at his pub, where he said he’ll be stationed from morning until past midnight.
“The planets are perfectly aligned,” he said. “It’s amazing.”
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The Grand Prix, Montreal’s largest tourism event, attracts a rather different crowd than the Canadiens. Mr. Lalumière said more than half of F1 attendees come from outside Quebec, including nearly 30 per cent who come from the United States and other countries. He’s expecting 170,000 unique visitors to the racetrack this weekend. The Habs, meanwhile, draw a more local audience.
That means some of the tourists filling Montreal’s streets are encountering the ardour of the city’s hockey fans for the first time. “I don’t know how everybody’s going to survive,” said Gil Hawkins Jr., who was up from Connecticut for the Grand Prix. “Is it Saturday night we’ve got something going on? I’m going to have to hide.”
But at a pop-up shop selling miniature model race cars near Crescent Street, Germain Goyer said the enthusiasm in Montreal has transcended sport.
“It’s a massive event. It goes beyond just a sports competition,” said Mr. Goyer. “People want to be part of the experience.”
Volunteers change tires on a demonstration F1 car on Crescent Street.ROGER LEMOYNE/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Goyer, who runs the shop with his parents, said they planned to watch the NHL game and the F1 race on mute as they work through the weekend. The Grand Prix typically accounts for 25 per cent of their yearly sales.
F1 has a long history in Quebec, home of legendary driver Gilles Villeneuve and his son, Jacques. On Friday, Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette named the late Gilles a historic figure of Quebec, adding him to an exclusive list that includes Canadiens icon Maurice Richard.
Many Quebeckers hold a spot in their heart for both sports. Quebec City resident William Nadeau plays hockey and writes full-time for a blog that covers the Habs. But he also grew up following F1 with his parents, who were fans of Jacques Villeneuve. He now has a toddler named for Italian driver Kimi Antonelli.
And yet, despite his love for the Grand Prix, hockey is in “a league of its own,” Mr. Nadeau said. “I don’t think there’s really any sport that can ever compete.”
On Monday, Mr. Goyer and his parents will pack up their model cars. The checkered flags will come down, but the red, white and blue will remain. In the battle for the heart and soul of Montreal, everyone knows race cars don’t stand a chance.
“I think everyone’s much more excited about the hockey than the Formula 1,” Montreal-born F1 driver Lance Stroll told reporters this week. “That’s the truth.”
A pickup truck adorned with moose horns and Habs paraphernalia cruises the streets around the Bell Centre.ROGER LEMOYNE/The Globe and Mail