Founded: May 21, 2007
Last updated: October 28, 2025
Current status: weekly until Christmas
Next update: October 31, 2025 - special election Extra edition / November 4, 2025 - next regular edition

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Important note on delivery - October 28, 2025
We are now using Canada Post for houses & duplexes

By David Price, editor
On October 11, Canada Post’s union changed strike strategies again, this time choosing to have rotating strikes. Under this new circumstance, the Independent has chosen to use Canada Post for houses and duplexes, but – if there is a rotating strike here – house and duplex papers (and only they) will be delayed by the length of the strike, at least. 

I thank, again, every volunteer distributor who worked when we did not use Canada Post. Despite their wonderful work, we never had enough of them to cover every house in Westmount. As a result, it would be churlish, in my view, to continue to accept their services and have them hitting the streets in addition to Canada Post to do a job that will – eventually – be done completely by the postal workers, and very likely on time.
This change by us does NOT affect apartment and condo delivery, which has not been done by Canada Post since the spring. This change by us also does NOT affect drop sites and the Independent remains available all over town in its usual timely fashion, including at special “strike condition” distribution boxes, a list of which can be found below.

Summary:
Apartments and condo buildings? No change. We have not been using Canada Post for these multi-unit buildings since its union has been in a strike position beginning in late spring. Every apartment and condo building should have been getting a bundle of newspapers to its lobby or mailroom by our private distributor since then. If not, call David at 514.935.4537.
Internet? No change.
Email? No change.
Drops to ATMs, dépanneurs, waiting rooms, municipal buildings and the Metro grocery store on Victoria Ave.? No change except to increase the number of papers dropped.
House-to-house delivery (including duplexes)? You will get an October 28 newspaper from Canada Post, but it could be late if there is a rotating strike here.
Newspaper distribution boxes? They are back, as follows:
Same as last fall:

• Côte St. Antoine/Victoria (northwest corner),
• The Boulevard/Aberdeen (southeast),
• Montrose/Mt. Pleasant (northeast),
• entrance to Murray Park (Montrose/Murray),
• entrance to Murray Park (Westmount Ave./Murray Hill),
• entrance to Queen Elizabeth Gardens (Barat/Vignal),
• outside our building at 310 Victoria Ave.

New sites:

• Devon Park entrance on Upper Belmont,
• Greene Ave. parking lot just south of Sherbrooke, at sidewalk, south side,
• de Maisonneuve/Lansdowne entrance to Westmount Park.

Please note that the Upper Roslyn/Roslyn steps box is out of commission due to construction work there and has been for quite a few weeks.

I thank everyone, and especially our clients, for bearing with us, as they did with such grace and helpfulness last fall when we were in the same boat.

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The Westmount Independent is an independent, Westmount-owned, weekly newspaper distributed free in Westmount, Quebec, Canada. Westmount is an independent municipality on the island of Montreal, just west of downtown, and a part of the Montreal agglomeration.

2025 schedule (all dates are inclusive)

Publishing dates (advertisement preparation is always the week before):
January 14 to June 24: issues

July 1: no issue (Dominion Day observance)
July 8:  issue

July 15 to August 5 – no issues, regular summer break
August 12 to December 9: issues

Early (Friday) deadlines: April 18 (for April 22 issue), May 16 (for May 20 issue), June 20 (for June 24 issue), August 29 (for September 2 issue), October 10 (for October 14 issue), November 7 (for November 11 issue)

Spotlight on Real Estate issues: March 18, May 13, September 16 & October 21

School issue: September 9

Content & stories

David Price, Editor, 514.935.4537, email: please type "editor", then the "at" sign, then this website's name without the "www"

Laureen Sweeney, Chief Reporter

Advertising sales

Arleen Candiotti, Advertising Consultant - 514.223.3567 - email: please type "advertising", then the "at" sign, then this website's name without the "www"

Accounting
514.223.6138 - email: please type "office", then the "at" sign, then this website's name without the "www"

City of Westmount

Westmount Public Library

Atwater Library

Westmount Historical Association

Centre Greene

Contactivity

 
Distribution:

The Westmount Independent is distributed by Canada Post in Westmount and at drop-offs around Westmount. 

Most reliable pick-up: 310 Victoria Bldg. lobby (Victoria Ave. and de Maisonneuve Blvd.) & distribution box on sidewalk in front

2nd most reliable pick-up: Metro grocery store (Victoria Ave. & Sherbrooke St.)

Also: Victoria Hall, Westmount city hall, Westmount Public Library, Atwater Library and at many ATMs, coffee shops, salons and waiting rooms. 

13,500+ physical copies DW, plus low-resolution email and web versions (11,000+ during possible postal strike - 8,000+ during actual postal strike) ● Distribution: Tuesday to Friday (longer when interrupted by postal holidays)

Letters for publication: We welcome your letters but reserve the right to choose and edit them. Please limit them to 300 words and submit before Friday 10 am to be considered for publication the following week. Please check your letter carefully as we may be unable to make subsequently submitted changes. Letter writers should not expect to be published in every issue, or in back-to-back issues, or repeatedly in the same season or on the same topic. Please include your name and street for publication (or borough or municipality if you do not live in Westmount), but not your address (unless you want it published).

Press time: Monday at 10:30 am (except before long weekends, Friday at 10:30 am)
The Westmount Independent is owned by Sherbrooke-Valois Inc. 310 Victoria Ave.,  #105, Westmount, QC, H3Z 2M9

Sherbrooke-Valois Inc. used to publish the Free Press and Vivva Montreal, and hosts the website of Price-Patterson Ltd.