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Soccer is a lifestyle, a passion and, for millions of fans, a reason to gather and celebrate. Whether in the bustling streets of Buenos Aires, the historic lanes of London, the vibrant boroughs of New York or the parks of Montreal one thing is constant: food plays an essential role in the experience, acting as fuel for fans, a bridge between cultures and a reflection of local identity.

European soccer culture is deeply intertwined with its food, from the pubs of England to the tapas bars of Spain. On match days, stadium perimeters transform into buzzing food hubs, offering everything from Germany’s bratwurst to Italy’s arancini. In the U.K., fish and chips remain a classic pre-game meal, while the famed “pie and a pint” tradition is a staple at stadiums like Old Trafford and Anfield.

In Spain, tapas culture — ie. bars serving dishes like patatas bravas and jamón ibérico — merges perfectly with soccer. In Germany, the bratwurst and pretzels sold outside Bundesliga grounds symbolize not just convenience but deep-rooted culinary heritage. In France, crêpes and merguez sandwiches are essential pre- and post-match indulgences.

In Latin America, soccer and street food are inseparable. In Argentina, choripán — a chorizo sausage in a crusty bun, often drenched in chimichurri — fills the air outside La Bombonera and El Monumental. Empanadas, quick and easy to eat while standing, are another staple.

Brazil, home to one of the most vibrant soccer cultures, is known for its match-day street food. Fans outside the Maracanã indulge in coxinhas (fried dough stuffed with chicken), pão de queijo (cheese bread) and espetinhos (grilled meat skewers). Much like the amazing Brazilian style of play, these flavours are influenced by African, Portuguese and Indigenous traditions.

Mexico, a country where soccer is almost a religion, boasts a street food scene that is just as revered, with tacos al pastor, elotes (grilled corn with cheese and spices) and tamales served en masse.

The United States and Canada may not have the same deep roots in soccer traditions as Europe or Latin America, but our food cultures are rapidly catching up. The growth of the MLS has brought with it a diverse food scene that mirrors the multicultural fan base. In stadiums in Atlanta, L.A., NYC and Portland, food has become a crucial part of the fan experience.

In the U.S., food trucks outside stadiums serve everything from Korean BBQ tacos to loaded hot dogs. Cities like Los Angeles and New York, with their immigrant-rich communities and fan bases, offer match-day food scenes that rival anywhere in the world. LA Galaxy and LAFC fans might feast on birria tacos before a game, while in Portland, a Timbers match isn’t complete without a stop at one of the city’s famed food carts.

Canada, home to a growing soccer culture, brings its own unique flavors to the mix. CF Montréal matches are known for their poutine, while Toronto FC supporters enjoy everything from peameal bacon sandwiches to West Indian doubles.

Montreal’s GOAL soccer festival has used food as a way to bring people and communities together for over 15 years now, and we see the power of that firsthand every summer.

Food and soccer both thrive on authenticity. And for soccer fans around the world, it isn’t just about sustenance — it’s about tradition, identity and community. Without it, the beautiful game simply wouldn’t be the same.

Bon appétit. ■

Listen to The 1st Half Culture Show podcast monthly on YouTube and The 1st Half radio show on TSN690AM Fridays at 6 p.m.

This article was originally published in the March 2025 issue of Cult MTL.

For more Montreal sports coverage, please visit our Sports section.

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Gus Englehorn, The Hornbook (Secret City)

The myth and legend of Gus Englehorn lives on, further etched in time with this new batch of songs. Each of these songs feels like it’s been plucked out of a whimsical grimoire buried in the hard, dusty ground until it was unearthed by a weary traveler — the surrealist garage rock equivalent of Pandora’s Box. Under a bed of warm acoustic guitar, bubbling synths, a few grungy axe fuzz lines and Estée Preda’s hypnotic drumming/backing vocals, characters like “Roderick of the Vale,” “One Eyed Jack” and a “wicked stew of spiny fish” take root. “A Song With Arms and Legs” sounds and feels like an acid trip with no escape, as the piano, played by Montreal’s Frisco Lee, has been drinking whisky in the background. No one does it quite like Gus — one of the most ingenious songwriters around today. 9/10 Trial Track “Roderick of the Vale”

For more on Gus Englehorn, please visit his website.

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For three weeks, riders did not need to pay to get on the REM. This week, things went back to normal, but commuters once again had to deal with an outage on Tuesday morning.

Quebec, the giant of Eastern Canada, has always been a cultural goldmine. From cobblestone streets, and mouthwatering poutine, to festivals, the province is a non-stop celebration. 

Lately, the province’s gaming industry has been making serious waves, drawing comparisons to Tokyo, London, and Seattle. We’re talking about a booming, billion-dollar video game industry that has put Quebec, especially Montreal, on the global map. 

The Booming Gaming Industry in Quebec

Since the 90s and early 2000s Quebec has been a powerhouse in game development. Some of the biggest names in the industry, including Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Warner Bros. Games, and Eidos-Montréal, have made themselves at home here. 

Montreal, in particular, has thousands of professionals working in everything from programming and animation to storytelling and game design. Apart from regular video games, online gambling has been a large part of the gaming scene in Quebec. 

The province didn’t just stumble into this success as the government played a major role in turning Quebec into an online gaming giant. Back in 1993, Montreal launched the Quebec Gaming Commission, or as it’s officially called, the Régie des Alcools, des Courses et des Jeux. 

This agency keeps an eye on all gambling activities in the province. As long as operators stick to the rules, they can get licensed and run legally. That’s why so many top online casinos in Quebec are based, and if you’re into online gambling and are based here, you’ll be in for a treat. With such a thriving industry, the province has cashed in on its gaming success.

Job Creation

Canada’s gaming industry directly impacts over 34,000 people. Nearly half of them, around 15,200, have landed direct jobs in Quebec. On top of that, the industry indirectly supports another 50,000 jobs in areas like supply chains, marketing, and tech-related fields. 

Ubisoft Montreal, one of the world’s biggest gaming studios, alone has over 4,000 employees. Other giants like EA, Behaviour Interactive, and Warner Bros Games have brought in thousands more, filling roles in development, design, and support. 

These jobs don’t just pay the bills, they pay well, averaging around $80,000 a year. That kind of salary has turned Quebec into a magnet for top gaming talent, drawing professionals from across Canada and beyond.

Quebec’s schools are keeping up with the demand. Institutions like Dawson College, Concordia University, and the Université de Montréal have rolled out game development programs to make sure grads hit the ground running with industry-ready skills.

Tourism and International Recognition

Every year, about 4.3 million visitors flood Quebec, and a huge number of them are here for the gaming scene. Massive tournaments like the Montreal International Game Summit (MIGS) and the BLAST R6 Major pull in players and fans from across the globe, raking in millions in tourism revenue.

Beyond tournaments gaming-related tourism also extends to conventions, meet-ups, and industry expos, which keep the excitement going all year round. With this wave of visitors comes a serious cash boost for local businesses. 

Hotels stay packed, restaurants serve up feast after feast, and transportation services stay busy, all thanks to the unstoppable power of gaming.

Innovation and Technological Advancements

Quebec is not just about making epic games but about pushing technology to new heights. Think artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality, these are not just buzzwords here. 

Ubisoft Montreal, the brains behind Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry, for instance, keeps raising the bar with jaw-dropping graphics and immersive storytelling. 

The same technology shaping virtual worlds is revolutionizing healthcare, education, and training. Real-time rendering, motion capture, and physics engines are transforming architecture, film, and industrial design.

Global Investments

With so much gaming activity taking place in Quebec, it goes without saying that billions have been poured into the province. 

Ubisoft, which set up its Montreal studio in 1997, helped pave the way for other global giants such as Warner Bros Games and Electronic Arts (EA) to invest in the region. Today, Quebec boasts over 15,000 jobs in the gaming sector, with Montreal alone hosting more than 200 gaming studios. 

The province’s competitive tax incentives, world-class talent pool, and thriving ecosystem have led to continuous foreign investment, with companies like Tencent and Embracer Group acquiring stakes in Quebec-based studios.

In 2021, the video game industry added over $1 billion to Quebec’s economy, demonstrating its significant impact on the local economy.

More than a Source of Entertainment

Quebec is on a winning streak, and it’s not just about games. Thanks to a powerful combination of skilled talent, strong government backing, and cutting-edge technology, Quebec’s gaming industry is taking over the scoreboard.

The numbers speak for themselves—billions in investment, tens of thousands of jobs, and a growing impact in AI and digital entertainment show that this industry is more than a passing fad.

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March 8 was International Women’s Day, and over the last couple of months the Montreal Canadiens have shown their commitment to support women and minorities. To celebrate International Women’s Day, the Canadiens recently tried to spotlight a few of the women who work with the Canadiens and the AHL’s Laval Rocket. 

The Canadiens explained how these women have contributed to the success of both teams and continue to do so today. One of the women is Dr. Penny-Jane Baylis. She is the sports medicine physician for the Canadiens and Rocket head team physician. Her interest in healthcare and hockey eventually led her to the Canadiens and Rocket. With the Rocket, Dr. Baylis signs off on players returning from injury and works with Rocket athletic therapist Glen Kinney to manage illnesses and injuries for the team. She also works with a group of other professionals that includes a dentist, physician, and orthopedic surgeon. 

Dr. Baylis’ role with the Canadiens is a sports medicine physician. With the Canadiens, Dr. Baylis and a team of multidisciplinary physicians work to bring the best care to the athletes. Maybe she will come to mind the next time a healthy Canadiens team steps onto the ice. 

Next, the team explained how Miranda McMillan assists the team in her role as a hockey data analyst. McMillan joined the Canadiens in 2022. Her job is to find trends and patterns in the data, communicate with the sport science and performance teams, automating analysis and data collection, and creating pregame and postgame reports. Analytics are a huge part of all the major sports today, not just hockey. So, McMillan’s role with the team is a big one. Even people who are sports betting in Quebec use data to help inform their bets. Analytics are a huge part of sports in general in 2025.

Rocket assistant athletic therapist Marie-Pierre Neron and sports dietitian Renee Racine also were given recognition for their contributions. Neron helps the team with injury prevention and rehabilitation, especially for injured players while they’re at home and aren’t with the team; she handles treatment, workouts, and rehabilitation exercises. And Racine helps with planning the menu, hydration, working with players individually to optimize performance, helps players return from injury, manages the supplement program, and more. 

Canadiens celebrating minorities 

Last month, members of PWHL’s Montreal Victoire participated in the 2025 Canadiens Skills Competition, a little over two weeks before International Women’s Day. This month is Women’s History Month in the US. Last month was the Black History Month. The Canadiens celebrated Black History Month in a few ways. The team promoted and sold merchandise with a custom logo to celebrate the vibrant culture of the African diaspora. Some are still available for purchase. The logo featured cowrie shells and a wax textile pattern. The logo was created by interdisciplinary artist Anna Binta Diallo. 

In January, the Canadiens promoted a custom logo to celebrate the Lunar New Year and East Asian culture, featuring a snake, sun, mountains, and lanterns. That logo was created by Korean illustrator Seungji An. The team celebrated the Lunar New Year on January 25 when they played against the New Jersey Devils with lion dancers, food, red envelopes with gift cards, and more.

The Canadiens celebrated the heritage of Quebec’s Black community on February 27 when the team played against the San Jose Sharks with music, food, and more. The team even has a Black History Month section on their site. The team posted a few of their past initiatives to support the Black community and promote inclusivity in hockey there. You will find information about Black History Month activities in Quebec, the team’s community events, a documentary on the contributions of Black players to hockey, and more. 

Supporting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community

The latest community to be celebrated by the Canadiens? The 2SLGBTQIA+ community was celebrated with Pride Night on March 15 when the Habs played against the Florida Panthers. For Pride Night, players wore Pride pins before the game and used Pride Tape during warmups. A pregame awareness workshop was held featuring rainbow cake at concessions and more. 

Like with the Black and East Asian communities, the Canadiens had a custom logo for the event. The Canadiens logo featured colours from the Pride flag. And like the Black community, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community also has a section on their site. There you can find a couple of organizations and projects that support creating a fair and inclusive environment for the community. In 2025, the team has shown a commitment to support women and minorities with all of these actions and more. 

The post The Montreal Canadiens Show Commitment to Supporting Women and Minorities appeared first on Cult MTL.

The Montreal suburb’s mayor says five new stations making the Orange line into a loop could be built without expropriating any land.

By William Crooks

Local Journalism Initiative

Health sector unions and Sherbrooke MNA Christine Labrie gathered on Mar. 17 to denounce the $1.5 billion in budget cuts imposed by Santé Québec, warning of their impact on public healthcare services in the region and across the province.

Speaking in front of the CSLC Belvédère, Labrie called the cuts “irresponsible” given current pressures on the healthcare system. “Many people already struggle to access a doctor or healthcare professional, and wait times are only increasing. It is unacceptable to force CISSS and CIUSSS facilities to make these kinds of reductions,” she said. She urged the provincial government to delay balancing the budget in order to protect both the public and healthcare workers.

Petition to be presented at National Assembly

A petition calling for a reversal of the cuts, spearheaded by healthcare worker Philippe Lambert, is set to be tabled at the National Assembly this week. “I launched this petition because patients should be the priority,” Lambert said. “These budget cuts make it harder for people to get care, and the strain on healthcare workers is unbearable.”

Unions representing nurses, administrative staff, and other health professionals voiced unanimous opposition to the cuts, arguing that they increase reliance on private healthcare providers while weakening the public system.

Criticism of privatization and staffing reductions

Stéphanie Goulet, president of the Syndicat des professionnelles en soins des Cantons-de-l’Est (FIQ-SPSCE), dismissed claims that privatization would help reduce costs and wait times. “That is a myth,” she said. “Instead of investing in the public system, the government is funnelling resources into the private sector. But private clinics pull healthcare workers away from hospitals, worsening staff shortages and increasing delays.”

The unions say the cuts have already led to hiring freezes, unfilled shifts, and the closure of some healthcare services. Jonathan Tétreault, president of the Syndicat du personnel administratif du CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS (SPACEC-CSN), said that administrative staff shortages are forcing nurses and doctors to take on extra paperwork. “Healthcare workers are already overstretched, and now they’re doing administrative tasks instead of patient care. The result? Even longer wait times and lower quality of care,” he said.

The staffing crunch extends beyond administrative roles. Alexandre Dumont, president of the SCFP 4475, pointed to widespread job cuts and hiring restrictions. “The network is fragile, and these reductions hurt everyone. When hospitals don’t have enough staff or equipment, patients suffer,” he said. “We are constantly forced to mobilize to get the government to listen. We need public support.”

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L’article Health sector unions and Christine Labrie condemn budget cuts est apparu en premier sur Sherbrooke Record.

By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

The six funeral homes in the Salons Funéraires Desourdy network, in Cowansville, Farnham, Henryville, Knowlton, Mansonville and Sutton, have been sold to the Coopérative funéraire de Saint-Hyacinthe, a representative for the co-op confirmed last week.

Gilles Cardinal, president of the Coopérative funéraire de Saint-Hyacinthe (CFSH), said discussions had been ongoing for nearly two years between the Fédération des coopératives funéraires du Québec (FCFQ), of which the CFSH is a member, and the private funeral home chain, which has been established in the area for nearly a century. He did not disclose the amount the chain was sold for.

The previous owner, Jean-Pierre Desourdy, was unavailable to comment before press time. Cardinal said Desourdy was “a great worker, who didn’t have any [potential successors] in his immediate family. He had not put [the company] on the market, but through contacts, we learned that he wanted to slow down, and we said if there is interest, maybe we can start talking. The first documents were signed between the FCFQ and Desourdy; after that commitment, the FCFQ asked around to see which of its members might be interested [in taking over the company], and we showed our interest.”

Before the sale, the co-op ran a single funeral home in Saint-Hyacinthe. “The company [Salons Funéraires Desourdy] was very well maintained, had a very good reputation, and had all kinds of equipment that we haven’t got in Saint-Hyacinthe – the embalming service, the crematorium, the fleet of vehicles for funeral processions – as well as a team of quality people,” said Cardinal. “We subcontracted [embalming and crematory] services before, and now we’ll be able to offer them in-house. [Desourdy] has some very dedicated employees, and we have some things we can learn from them.” Cardinal said the co-op planned to keep existing staff at the six funeral homes – including Jean-Pierre Desourdy – on staff.

He emphasized that the co-op was “the property of Quebecers that will stay in Quebec,” adding that “we made this acquisition with a lot of pride.”

Cardinal said the sale would not change much for families making funeral arrangements via one of the six Desourdy homes. The homes will be incorporated into the co-op, which functions a bit like a credit union, with members able to join the board and vote on some governance decisions, and a small slice of the profits returned to the membership. “They will be able to become members of the co-op if they choose, which comes with some economic advantages. They will continue to have the same services they had at Desourdy, [such as] advance funeral arrangements … in Saint-Hyacinthe, it will allow us to add a lot of services.” Services in English will still be available where there is demand. “In places like Knowlton, Sutton and Cowansville, where there are a lot of anglophones, we will make sure there are people who can serve those families.”

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L’article Saint-Hyacinthe co-op buys Desourdy funeral homes est apparu en premier sur Sherbrooke Record.

L’article Brome County News, March 18, 2025 est apparu en premier sur Sherbrooke Record.

According to a study by the Angus Reid Institute, Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister Mark Carney (+15%) now leads Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre (-22%) in net favourability by 37 points. This is Poilievre’s lowest net favourability rating as CPC leader, with just 35% of Canadians saying they have a positive opinion of him.

Carney leads Poilievre in net favourability by 58 points among women and 49 points among Canadians aged 18 to 34 years old.

“Poilievre has struggled to endear himself to Canadians. A majority of Canadians have consistently said they have a negative opinion of the CPC leader.”

Interestingly, Mark Carney’s favourability is higher in Montreal (63%) than anywhere else in Canada. Montreal is also the city where positive impressions of Pierre Poilievre are lowest (15%).

Carney also leads Poilievre by 25 points as the best candidate to handle Trump’s trade war.

The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from March 13 to 16, 2025 among a representative randomized sample of 4,009 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum.

For our latest in news, please visit the News section.

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Pierre Lassonde's donation to Polytechnique Montreal comes as Canada finds itself in the midst of a tariff war with the United States, its largest trading partner and ally.

If Montreal ever wanted to make a serious pitch to become the new home of the United Nations, now is the time. With Donald Trump going out of his way to make the United States a global pariah, and President Elon Musk saying the U.S. should abandon the UN, I’d argue the basic conditions have been met for Montreal to put together a proposal.

To be clear, I do not think that Montreal deserves to become the new home of the United Nations — plenty of cities and countries arguably deserve that distinction. But I do think there’s a case to be made that Montreal has something special to offer, and that the UN would benefit from being located here over elsewhere (and particularly over New York City right now).

Donald Trump — and everything that is rotten about the United States that he represents — proves with every passing day why the United Nations should no longer be headquartered in New York City. I would argue it was a mistake to locate it there in the first place, and that — irrespective of however much longer Trump remains in office — the United States does not deserve the UN.

I suspect there are at least a few people up at the top of the UN who are probably thinking the same thing.

Montreal has every reason to develop a proposal and lobby the UN to consider it. If the governments of Canada or Quebec want to help, that’s fine, but it should be clear to all concerned that this is Montreal’s effort. At the very least, this avoids getting too wrapped up in federal or provincial politics, and helps Montreal assert itself. We need to be responsible for our own evolution.

The obvious selling point is that Montreal is a cosmopolitan and inherently multilingual city. It doesn’t hurt that we’re close to New York City, meaning the move would be relatively easy, too. We’re a far more affordable city to live in, and this would make participating in the UN less of a financial burden for poorer nations. We also have a well-educated workforce, four major universities that have historically attracted a large international student body and are already home to several international organizations, including a UN specialized agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). 

Montreal’s cultural offering punches far above its weight, and the city enjoys a well-earned global reputation for its superior quality of life. It is an exceptionally safe city that’s unlikely to be targeted by terrorists, which certainly sweetens the deal.

Being a major metropolis fully powered by renewable energy and boasting an excellent public transit system doesn’t hurt either, and is a strong selling point in the era of the climate crisis.

The benefits to us are considerable. It’s not just the prestige, though a rising tide lifts all boats. The presence of the UN would bring a lot of attention to our city, and this in turn would doubtless encourage our institutions and political class to think bigger as well. The economic impact would be considerable, with tens of thousands of UN workers and tens of thousands more new jobs created to support it. The construction of a new UN headquarters building would create even more jobs, stimulate the city’s construction and engineering sectors and provide an opportunity to build an architectural landmark sans pareil.

There are other, perhaps less obvious benefits that should be considered as well. 

On the subject of language, while Montreal’s multilingualism is a major selling point, the relocation of the UN to a majority francophone city would not only bring many more French-speaking people to Montreal, it would likely go a long way towards reassuring language hawks that the future of the French language is guaranteed in Montreal. It’s hard to argue that the French language is in decline in a city that’s home to the seat of world diplomacy. Moreover, I suspect that the provincialism inherent to Quebec’s language politics and policing wouldn’t be very flattering on the world stage.

On a related note, both the federal and provincial governments could be encouraged to reconsider policies that limit the number of international students from attending Canadian universities. That too wouldn’t be an attractive look.

The federal government would likely expand their presence in Montreal to take advantage of the newfound proximity to the United Nations, just as major Canadian corporations would find good reasons to expand their presence in Montreal for the same reasons. And it goes without saying Trudeau International Airport would likely become a lot busier, with many more flights to far more destinations. I suspect the very idea of a ‘seasonal workforce’ would disappear from our tourism and hospitality industry altogether.

And while I don’t normally support the idea of giving land away for free, the potential economic, political and cultural benefits of relocating the UN to Montreal may actually make it worthwhile.

As to where it might go, there are more than a few options. The current UN complex in Manhattan only occupies about 0.07 square kilometres, which is smaller than the footprint of the Palais des Congrès.

Back in 2007, the Port of Montreal floated the idea of moving the UN here as a more cost effective alternative to renovating the existing UN buildings and campus in Manhattan. They proposed the site of Grain Silo No. 5 on Pointe-du-Moulin in the Old Port as a possible location. 

I like the idea of a new Montreal UN headquarters also being located next to the water, but I wouldn’t propose demolishing Grain Silo No. 5. Among other reasons, the silo is an icon of Montreal architecture and the city’s industrial heritage, and should be preserved. Moreover, with Trump effectively ripping up CUSMA and giving Canada every reason to find new international export markets for our goods, it might be prudent for us to hold on to a massive grain storage and shipment facility.

That said, there are still plenty of other locations that could work. I’m partial to the Cité du Havre and Goose Village areas, namely because there’s comparatively a lot of room to work with and it would create a new hub of activity within the greater city centre. Alternatively, if extensively modified, Olympic Stadium could make for an interesting location. Not only would it give the iconic building a new purpose, it would likely ‘pull’ high-density urban development towards the East End (which is what Jean Drapeau had hoped the stadium would accomplish 50 years ago) and provide some serious long-term economic stimulus for the area.

Trump may destroy America, and he threatens Canada in a way we never could have previously imagined, but he is also demonstrating on a daily basis why Canada needs to sever its once special relationship with the United States, and move on. This is a unique situation that provides us with an opportunity to completely reimagine who we are and set ourselves on a new course towards greater sovereignty and a more important role to play on the international stage. I don’t think we should waste it. 
In threatening our very existence, Donald Trump has ironically given us every reason to imagine how great we might become. ■

This article was originally published in the March 2025 issue of Cult MTL.

Read more editorials by Taylor C. Noakes.

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A cyclist was critically injured after he was hit by a city bus on Monday morning at the intersection of Pie-IX Boulevard and La Fontaine Street in Montreal's Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough.

Prime Minister Mark Carney landed in England on Monday where he had a private audience with King Charles.

The COVID-19 pandemic’s first wave tore through Quebec’s long-term care homes, killing more than 5,000 seniors between March 2020 and March 2021. A coroner’s report revealed that there was a lack of protective equipment, staff and training in the facilities. Five years later, the province says CHSLDs are doing better.

The Terrebonne riding east of Montreal had been held by former economy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon since the CAQ formed government in 2018, but it had previously been a PQ stronghold going back to 1976.

Some 25 years ago, as I was beginning high school, I learned one of the most valuable lessons about film that one could ever learn. In a class discussion about our favourite movies, one of my peers stated that her favourite movie of all time was The Watcher, a dull serial killer thriller starring James Spader and Keanu Reeves. The Watcher is barely remembered today, and it wasn’t particularly well-regarded closer to its release date, either, and to my budding cinephile brain, its selection as someone’s favourite film of all time defied all logic. Here was a movie indistinguishable from a dozen other movies, coldly received by critics and ignored by audiences, that someone considered the very best movie they had ever seen. Though it would take me years to break out of the codified canon approach to appreciating movies, I did learn a lesson: every single movie has the potential to be someone’s absolute favourite. 

This is not something that seems to have ever crossed the Russo brothers’ mind.

Though technically some of the world’s top directors in terms of scope and box-office gross, the Russo brothers’ non-Marvel output — created exclusively for streaming services and often coming with astronomical budgets that outstrip even the average Avengers movie — has been comprised entirely of generic, unremarkable genre slop that barely if ever enters the cultural conversation. Since streamers don’t release numbers (and when they do, they’re not exactly reliable), we’re to believe that everyone on Earth has seen and loved The Gray Man, their 2022 globe-trotting spy thriller, but its algorithm-pleasing construction has ensured that it simply exists outside of such things as “audience enjoyment” and “staying awake through the whole thing.” This appears to be enough for the Russos — to make a movie that can be identified as such by a good percentage of the world’s population. Passion, on either side of the screen, has nothing to do with it.

The Electric State, their adaptation of Simon Stålenhag’s 2018 illustrated novel, comes with the highest pricetag for a Netflix production yet. Though it’s foolish to assign expectations to a budget, it does suggest a certain faith in the material that’s not necessarily backed up by the actual material. Rolling through elements of blockbuster filmmaking of the last 15 years at an alarming clip, The Electric State may not be as generic as their last Netflix production, but it’s pretty much just as dispassionate. 

The Electric State takes place in a society where animatronic robots designed in the 1950s (by Walt Disney, no less) eventually evolved into a workforce of indentured servitude; displeased with being used as miners and waiters, the robots fought back, leading to a war that was closely won by humans in the early ’90s. The world’s remaining robots have been forced into a containment zone and their interactions with the human world are considered highly illegal. To continue using robots to do menial jobs without having to deal with their pesky consciences, a tech billionaire named Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci) has devised a sort of VR helmet that allows humans to bifurcate their conscience and live both in the real world, doing boring jobs through their robot avatars, and in a narcotic fantasy land of their own choosing.

Michelle (Millie Bobbie Brown) has lived with a headset-addicted foster father (Jason Alexander) ever since her family was killed in a car accident some years prior. One night, she is visited by a robot portraying 1960s cartoon character Cosmo that purports to actually be an avatar for her deceased brother Christopher, who claims to be held by someone (or something) in the robot-prison zone. To access it, Michelle seeks out help from Keats (Chris Pratt), a former soldier turned nostalgia junk peddler and his best friend Herman (voiced by Anthony Mackie), who just so happens to be a robot. Together, with a gaggle of zany robots voiced by celebrities picked up along the way, they head into the eye of the storm to rescue Christopher.

Though silly and essentially designed to allow for maximum quadrant-pleasing mix-and-match nostalgia porn in the Ready Player One mold, The Electric State at least states its premise cleanly and without too much of the arcane bullshit that usually comes with high-concept sci-adaptations. Granted, Stålenhag’s book is more of an artbook than a comic book, and the filmmakers have had to do a lot of colouring-in to make it into the kind of leave-it-on-in-the-background, shareholder-pleasing content they now excel at. They’ve done that by pilfering ideas from sources both obvious (the Terminator and Transformers series, Guardians of the Galaxy) and less so (Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland) and smoothing them out into an easily digestible entertainment paste.

In the film’s defence, there are many things about it that, while not necessarily good and clever, aren’t a total wash. For a film filled to the brim with robot characters, its special effects have a certain heft that prevents it from feeling one level removed from Pratt and Brown yelling at tennis balls in front of a green screen. The humour doesn’t solely rely on well-trod postmodern rib-poking in the Deadpool vein, although it strikes a curious balance between being aimed squarely at kids and being of the all-quadrant Amblin variety. Even Pratt, who has essentially played Star-Lord in every movie he’s made since 2014, is a little more dialled-down than usual. To what end is unclear. 

From a well-established premise, the film nevertheless devolves into copious robotic shenanigans, plot twists half-whispered by rusted-out robot characters, obvious needledrops by the barrel-full and a general lack of personality that soon becomes the film’s driving force. Like The Gray Man before it, The Electric State ultimately feels like the product of what we used to call focus-group filmmaking but can now consider the product of the algorithm. There’s no passion behind it; all of its decisions are mechanical at best. Though it takes the hard work of hundreds upon hundreds of people to make a movie, The Electric State makes it look like they can just sort of start existing out of thin air.

Some 25 years ago, back when my fellow student expounded on her love of The Watcher (it turns out her main reason for loving it was that she thought Keanu Reeves was hot, which is a fair point but not one that The Watcher has exclusivity on), movies that cost as much money as The Electric State had a certain cachet. They often failed at the box office and were seen as runaway disasters based on decisions the filmmakers made — to shoot Waterworld on the water, for example, or to turn 1960s TV shows into colorful steampunk nonsense. They were the result of someone with too much passion (misguided as it might be) butting heads against the people with the money. What I wouldn’t give to see a little of that misguided passion somewhere in The Electric State, a film seemingly conceived to be loved by no one but half-watched by all. ■

The Electric State is streaming now on Netflix.

For our latest in film and TV, please visit our Film & TV section.

The post The Russo brothers’ Netflix epic The Electric State will be loved by no one but half-watched by all appeared first on Cult MTL.

Seven people died in the fire that broke out in a building that was mainly used for short-term rentals in Montreal. A criminal investigation and a civil case are underway. Quebec’s coroner is also set to conduct an inquiry.

Several Quebec communities are under flood watch Monday after mild weather and rain resulted in overflowing rivers and high water levels.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has arrived in Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, seeking support from one of Canada's oldest allies as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to attack Canada's sovereignty and economy.

Carney, who was sworn in as prime minister on Friday, was joined by several Quebec-based cabinet ministers as he shook hands and waved to thousands gathered along the drizzly parade route in the downtown core.

By William Crooks

Local Journalism Initiative

The Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement (FSE-CSQ) has launched a new set of educational tools aimed at preventing the sexual exploitation of minors. Developed in collaboration with White Ribbon and other partners, these ready-to-use learning scenarios provide Quebec teachers with concrete resources to address the issue in classrooms.

Isabelle Tremblay-Chevalier, professional and pedagogical advisor at FSE-CSQ and responsible for the Ruban Blanc initiative, explained March 14 that the project emerged from White Ribbon’s broader campaign to combat violence against women and marginalized groups. The campaign received funding from a Canadian organization, and the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, which did not have Quebec-based representatives, reached out to the CSQ to ensure Quebec-specific tools were developed.

“We worked for two years with a local teacher to adapt content to the Quebec context,” Tremblay-Chevalier said. “At the end of the project, we had eight learning and evaluation scenarios that secondary school teachers can use in class.”

These scenarios align with Quebec’s Culture and Citizenship in Quebec (CCQ) program, which is now implemented in all schools across the province. According to Tremblay-Chevalier, teachers often lack sufficient resources for CCQ, especially at the secondary level. The newly developed tools help fill that gap, particularly in areas related to sexual education.

Addressing a growing issue

The push to create these resources comes as awareness of sexual exploitation continues to grow. Several national and provincial commissions have examined the issue, particularly in relation to Indigenous women and minors. Tremblay-Chevalier noted that while the problem itself may not necessarily be increasing, the willingness to acknowledge and document it has.

One of the learning scenarios focuses on online safety, including human trafficking for sexual purposes and how students can protect themselves in digital spaces. “This scenario takes about three class periods and helps students understand the risks they face online,” she said. Other topics include developing healthy relationships, understanding consent, and intervening as a witness to violence.

“There is a strong preventive aspect,” Tremblay-Chevalier added. “We’re not just reacting—we’re educating young people, including boys, about what constitutes sexual violence and how to recognize it.”

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L’article Teaching prevention – New tools to fight sexual exploitation in schools est apparu en premier sur Sherbrooke Record.

Lucas-Ariel Masengu was last seen Saturday in the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough, according to police.

Through portraits and sculptures, medical students at Université de Montréal are sharpening their observation and communication skills so that they can better care for future patients.

On Saturday evening, Projet Montréal members elected Luc Rabouin to become their next leader and candidate in this year's municipal elections. He won 59.2 per cent of the vote in the fourth round, besting the borough mayor for Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Gracia Kasoki Katahwa, who finished second with 40.8 per cent.

A study by U.S. News & World Report has ranked Canada third on a list of the top countries with social purpose, seen as being “the most progressive and inclusive” countries in the world.

Denmark and Sweden occupy the top two spots on the list, while Norway and New Zealand round out the top 5.

“A country’s citizens can rally around certain causes they feel strongly about: human rights, the environment and religious freedom, to name a few. Support for these causes can create a sense of cultural cohesion within countries, and help their people identify as having a shared sense of purpose. These countries are seen as being the most progressive, inclusive and committed to social justice.”

The United States did not rank in the top 10.

Top countries in the world with social purpose

1. Denmark
2. Sweden
3. Canada
4. Norway
5. New Zealand
6. Finland
7. Switzerland
8. Netherlands
9. Australia
10. Belgium

The study also found that Canada has been named the fourth best country in the world.

For our latest in news, please visit the News section.

The post Canada named among top countries with social purpose appeared first on Cult MTL.

It may seem counterintuitive, but hospital emergency rooms can be hazardous to the health of elderly patients. The chaotic environment can cause delirium and deconditioning to set in fast, and some patients never leave the hospital again. An innovative team at St. Mary's Hospital in Montreal is helping to prevent that from happening.

A provincial byelection is being held Monday in the riding of Terrebonne. Tariffs and transit are top of mind in the region with political experts saying Quebec Premier François Legault and his Coalition Avenir Québec government are facing an uphill battle.

Thousands of Quebec asylum seekers who cared for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in health-care establishments have been refused permanent residency under a federal pathway set up to thank them. Others have been waiting for years.

Montreal’s public consultation commission is recommending the city postpone approving exemptions for a controversial container yard project slated for the city's east end and conduct a complete reassessment of the plan.

In February, Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet tabled a bill that, if adopted, would give more power to the provincial government to limit the duration of strikes and lockouts. Unions and workers protested against Bill 89, causing the cancellation of the conference at which Boulet was scheduled to speak Friday.

Welcome to the Best of MTL, Cult MTL’s 13th annual readers poll! This is a forum to reward your favourite local people, places, restaurants, artists, media and businesses.

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Bienvenue au Best of MTL! Faites reconnaître vos personnalités, artistes, restaurants, évènements et entreprises montréalais préférés à l’aide du 13eme sondage annuel de Cult MTL. La date limite pour voter est 23 h 59, le 14 avril.

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Bienvenue au sondage des lecteurs Best of MTL 2025 ! Il ne vous faut que 5 minutes pour répondre au minimum de 25 catégories nécessaires pour que votre bulletin de vote compte. Remplissez toutes les catégories que vous souhaitez — une entrée par lecteur (par adresse IP) — et amusez-vous bien ! N’oubliez pas de soumettre votre bulletin de vote à la fin du sondage.

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As the Canada Border Services Agency reveals some new tools it’s using to increase border security at a crossing in Stanstead, Que., some in the town fear a reduction in traffic heading north could have negative impacts locally.

The Council of the Cree Nation of Chisasibi said it is with “heavy hearts” that they mourn the young woman and her “two precious babies."

There’s an innate pleasure to diving into a Steven Soderbergh film. Prolific and unpredictable, Soderbergh remains the last true experimenter working within the mainstream American system. In just a few short months, he’s able to deliver a ghost story told from the point of view of the phantom with Presence, and also a spy thriller that doubles as a metaphor for marriage with Black Bag. 

Black Bag stars Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender as a married couple who both work for a British spy agency. The title refers to jobs that must remain secret, even to each other. The “black bag” jobs, though, present an obvious conundrum for marital intimacy and honesty, particularly as George (Fassbender) begins to suspect that his wife Kathryn is not only lying to him, but potentially working to betray the country. 

In a clever screenplay by David Koepp, which plays off Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, the movie quickly turns into an unconventional dinner party. The very precise George serves dinner, while the more aloof Kathryn entertains. As the three couples sit around the table, George suggests a little game. Everyone seated at the table should make a resolution for the person sitting to their right. As one can imagine, the simple parlour game quickly devolves into petty grievances and outright violence.

The Albee connection remains relatively strong throughout Black Bag, as it strengthens the film’s examination of modern relationships. What are the limits of honesty? How do people stay together in high-competition and inherently deceptive fields? The answer, unsurprisingly, seems to be that they have to be real sickos, in it for the love of the game. The paranoid inklings driving George isn’t just mad love, but a pride in his work.

In some ways, the film is counterintuitive to a lot of contemporary messaging, positioning marriage as one of the greatest pillars of devotion and morality within society. As the other couples crumble due to a lack of loyalty and competing values, our central relationship remains strong. The dedication George and Kathryn have to each other sustains more than their marriage, extending to the nation itself. Their intimate knowledge of their partner’s habits and shared willingness to kill for each other doesn’t inspire mopey depression in the face of betrayal, but a desire to dive deeper, to get at the truth — or, at least, a version of it. 

Rather than leaning towards a conservative vision of marriage as a pillar of a healthy society, however, the screenplay goes out of its way to show how to refuse traditionalism. Aside from the fact that the couple has decided not to have children, the film also presents their devotion to each other as bordering on self-destructive. It’s not necessarily aspirational either, as the other couples look at them with varying levels of admiration and repulsion. The intensity of their connection isn’t pure or beautiful, but brutally obsessive. It doesn’t matter that both of them embody a quiet serenity in their demeanour; their love is all-consuming.

The intricacies of the actual spy story are always less interesting than the cat and mouse games of the various relationships. It’s clear that Soderbergh is far less interested in the geopolitical dramas than the interpersonal ones, which means that even scenes meant to hinge on suspense are not especially effective. While more than capable of creating a film with twists and thrills, Black Bag doesn’t quite work on that level, though the strength of the film’s marital inquiries and the cast help overcome its narrative weaknesses. 

At a brisk 90 minutes, Black Bag remains pleasurable. It’s middle of the road Soderbergh, which ranks it as better than most films. It also strikes me as a film that only improves with rewatches, as its detail-oriented plot and characters reveal more of themselves with careful observation. Aside from Blanchett and Fassbender, the rest of the cast — Marisa Abela, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Regé-Jean Page and Pierce Brosnan — go all in. It’s a simple but effective film that’s a throwback to an era where films for adults could be sexy, fun and a little twisted. ■

Black Bag opens in Montreal theatres on Friday, March 14.

For our latest in film and TV, please visit our Film & TV section.

The post Black Bag is a sexy spy thriller from exceptional, unpredictable filmmaker Steven Soderbergh appeared first on Cult MTL.