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Science & Technology

Which way does the wind blow? What wind can tell us about city wildfire pollution

by Shani Laskin on

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In late June 2023, the Montreal sky turned orange-grey, the skyline overtaken by a thick haze. The city’s annual air quality report for that year showed that pollution reached its highest point in eight years and on June 25 and 26 of 2023, Montreal had the worst air quality in the world. The culprit? Wildfires.

The 2023 Canadian wildfire season was the worst on record, scorching over 15 million hectares of land. While wildfires are a natural phenomenon, droves of research have connected continued climate change and global warming to longer and more destructive wildfire seasons. These fires may not be ablaze in or even near Montreal, but the summer of 2023 acutely showed how the infernos, carried in by wind, make their mark on cities. 

But once wildfire smoke floats into a city, how does it disperse? How can researchers accurately model these patterns? Quinn Dyer-Hawes, third-year PhD candidate at McGill’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, set out to answer these questions in a recently published paper in the journal Building and Environment.

Wildfire smoke is made up of gases like carbon monoxide and methane, but also contains clouds of particulate matter. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5)—classified as having a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres—makes up roughly 90 per cent of the total particle mass in wildfire smoke. Exposure to PM2.5 is one of the main health risks associated with wildfire smoke, with the Government of Canada reporting that there is no known safe level of exposure to it. Because of its abundance and relatively stable behaviour in the atmosphere, PM2.5 became the primary pollutant of interest for Dyer-Hawes. 

His study used computational fluid dynamics—a way of modelling the movement of gases or liquids that can continuously flow (scientists group both liquids and gases as ‘fluids’). Such fluids, including air, can then be modelled using the Navier-Stokes equations. As Dyer-Hawes explained, however, these equations are extremely complicated and require a lot of computational energy. 

“We use computers to be able to simplify those equations and then solve them because you are looking at very large scale areas. And if you were to do that all by hand, it’d take forever,” Dyer-Hawes explained in an interview with The Tribune. 

These equations allowed him to track the movement of wildfire smoke by simulating wind, which, presumably, carries the pollution throughout the city. Dyer-Hawes found that the concentration of PM2.5 predicted by the model varied considerably across the city. 

“There are areas in the city which have higher wind speeds and […] lower urban density, and these areas have better ventilation, and so they’re more easily able to carry the wildfire smoke out of them,” Dyer-Hawes said. “Conversely, there are areas where you have low wind speeds and very dense buildings, and these are areas where you can actually have buildup of wildfire smoke.”

This buildup of PM2.5 can have adverse effects on city dwellers, especially when the heightened particulate matter concentrations are compounded by other pollutants like car exhaust. According to Dyer-Hawes’ paper, being in poorly ventilated areas when PM2.5 concentrations are high could have hazardous health effects, although more research needs to be done to fully understand the impact. 

“With climate change, we’re going to see more frequent wildfires, and so you can expect more cases where cities are being affected by wildfire smoke. So I think it’s something very important to pay attention to,” Dyer-Hawes said. “[Summer 2023] was definitely a bit of a wake-up call.”

This study, however, was primarily meant to test and validate a model that Dyer-Hawes will use in his future research. Looking to the future, he is working on modelling greenhouse gas dispersal through wind. According to Dyer-Hawes, Montreal does not have a robust inventory of localized greenhouse gas emissions. With his upcoming research, he hopes to get a better understanding of where they are coming from and if there are any significant sources that have been overlooked.

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Red lights on the silver screen

by Jamie Xie on

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Hiding in plain sight, you might have passed it by once or twice. It’s whistling past the graveyard, tucked away beneath the fairyland starlight of St-Laurent: Cinéma L’Amour has become a defining symbol of Montréal’s modern adult entertainment industry—and one of the last Cinemas Libertins of its kind. 

In all its vintage grandeur, the cinema delivers on its promises as a discreet cruising location. Playing primarily 2000s hardcore pornography, the theatre embraces a nostalgic, no-frills approach to adult entertainment, providing a playspace for its community as long as consent will allow. The velvet seats are generously proportioned. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., admission for visitors (who must be 18+) is $16.50 CAD—with free-entry promotions for couples all day on Mondays and Tuesdays and evenings on Thursday. The cinema also offers free-entry promotions for trans women on Wednesdays. Whether you come for the films, the atmosphere, or even just for a good time, L’Amour is good company to have on a red night out. 

A frequent patron who wished to remain anonymous spoke to The Tribune about L’Amour’s significance to trans women in particular. 

“The alternative is to meet these random strangers at their apartments or nearby parks; it’s scary. This space makes me much more comfortable,” they said.

Built in 1914, the building was originally a Jewish Vaudeville theatre called Le Globe; the theatre played Yiddish films during the 20s and 30s, undergoing its first renaming to The Hollywood in 1932. In 1969 it was turned into a location for the American adult theatre chain Pussycat. By 1981 Cinema L’Amour was officially established as it exists today, now a small three-generation family-run business.

At one point in time, there were actually two such cinemas: One in Montreal, and another just across the bridge bordering Ontario. As a result of differing provincial adult content laws, each film had two editions—one explicit, one heavily edited. With Ontario imposing stricter restrictions, many Ontarians would travel to Montreal just to see the unedited screenings.  

A regular of 10 years who wished to remain anonymous noted the familiarity of the crowd. 

“It’s not uncommon to see some old and new people every week. I met a colleague here once,” he admitted with a laugh. “It’s one of those things where you just give a nod and move on.” 

Unlike Entre Nous 2, another popular swinger venue that was forced to close down due to lack of business during COVID-19, Cinema L’Amour has only grown in popularity since the pandemic.

The resurgence of interest in adult venues reflects a broader shift—one that has been years in the making. Long before the pandemic, the opening of L’Orage, a Montreal swinger lifestyle club, marked a pivotal moment in Montréal’s history, redefining Québécois liberal attitudes towards sexuality. As the first club in North America to accept swingers into a private play area, the club became the centre of legal controversy after a 1998 police raid led to 41 members being charged with public indecency. This marked the beginning of a landmark court battle that would redraw the limits of public decency. 

Though initially convicted at lower courts, Jean-Paul Labaye, owner of L’Orage, was given a favourable ruling after appealing to the Supreme Court in 2005, reshaping Canada’s obscenity laws and establishing a framework that defines indecency not by moral standards but by context, consent, and potential harm.  

A fact often overlooked about Montreal is that it ranks third in terms of global adult film production, just behind Los Angeles and Amsterdam. In fact, it is the birthplace and headquarters of MindGeek, renamed Aylo—the parent company behind Pornhub, Brazzers, XVideos and many other pornography subsidiaries. 

One insider who wished to remain anonymous spoke on the importance of these types of spaces to the local community.

“There aren’t that many third spaces today, they’re dying out,” X said. “A lot of people here treat it like their home because for many people it kind of is their home.” 

Montreal’s unique cultural profile has long placed it at the forefront of sex liberalism in North America. With its progressive and defiant spirit, the city is actively pushing the envelope when it comes to reimagining what a city’s role might be in acknowledging sex work and legitimizing adult entertainment as an integral component of personal freedom.

Out on the Town, Student Life

Get to know your neighborhood: Four gates, one Chinatown

by Jamie Xie on

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At the very heart of Montreal, nestled alongside the bustling downtown blocks, is Montreal’s very own Quartier Chinois. Occupying roughly one square block, the neighbourhood is portrait-framed by four ornate Paifang gates—the most of any Chinatown in Canada—denoting the cardinal directions. 

Robert Frost once said “Good fences make good neighbours,” and the same could be said of those gates. As picturesque as they may be, the four gates embody a fundamental tension of immigration: The desire to carve out a home that reflects your cultural identity, at odds with the ongoing pressure to integrate into Western society. The four sides of the micropolis stand as a physical way to claim the space in response to the ongoing decline of the Chinese population in the area caused by gentrification starting in the 1970s, yet also a reminder of the limitations faced by the Chinese diaspora, marking out what space does and does not belong to them despite being a multigenerational community contributing to the wider city of Montreal.

With a history that goes as far back as the mid-to-late 1800s, Montreal’s Chinatown is one of the oldest Asian communities on the continent. It was first referred to by the term “Chinatown” in 1902 by the French newspaper La Presse. The area was initially residential, following a new wave of Chinese immigrants that arrived from British Columbia after completing the transcontinental railroad in 1885. Many moved to Montreal in hopes of escaping the systemic discrimination faced on the West Coast, particularly the Head Tax legislation, which charged Chinese immigrants $50 CAD per person for the privilege of working in Canada, later raised to $500 CAD. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923 banned the entry of Chinese immigrants for 24 years, impeding family reunions and community development. As a result of this unique cocktail of circumstances and systemic discrimination, Montreal’s Chinatown garnered a reputation as a sort of sketchy bachelor society of Mahjong gambling and criminal network disputes. Reflecting on the underground political turmoils, the newspaper La Patrie would describe Chinatown in 1936 as a place where “a simple spark is enough to trigger a vendetta.” 

Chinatown has changed a lot since the 1930s, becoming relatively commercial and tourist-accessible. It now intertwines historical reverence with a thriving participatory culture. As a result of a number of street widening and urban renewal projects introduced in the 1960s, Chinatown shrank by a third: Pagoda Park, three Chinese churches, a residential sector, and several family-run businesses were shut down to make room for the Palais des congrès, Complex Guy-Favreau and the Ville Marie Expressway. This, in turn, forced many residents to relocate, scattering much of the population to Côte-des-Neiges and Saint-Laurent. 

Today, Chinatown has much to offer to students visiting the area. Sun-Yat-Sen Park centres Chinatown as a public square for people to socialize and enjoy taichi in the summer. Alongside it is the pedestrian-only strip mall of rue de la Gauchetière, where street festivals are held during the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival and Lunar New Year. 

One of Chinatown’s famous features is its large and diverse food scene. Regardless of one’s taste, there is something for everyone. Visit the self-serve Hong Kong-style bakery Pâtisserie Coco or the Dragon’s Beard Candy stall for a unique sweet tooth treat. For a savoury fix, don’t miss out on soup dumplings from Sammi & Soupe Dumpling. If you’re in the mood for spice, Restaurant Kanbei specializes in Szechuan-style cuisine and is a local favourite for its numbing-spicy peppercorn flavours—try the Spicy Sichuan hot pot for the full effect. For an all-you-can-eat experience, Happy Lamb Hot Pot offers a free buffet for birthdays when you purchase a soup base. Don’t forget to swing by G&D Supermarket for all your Asian grocery needs.   

As Montreal’s Chinatown continues to grow and evolve today, it remains a living testimony to the resilience and cultural pride of the community which helped shape it, offering both a rich history and an accessible culinary experience for visitors and students alike.

Student Life

From pubs to parades: Montreal’s versatile Saint Patrick’s Day scene

by Simona Culotta on

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Every year, around March 17, St. Patrick’s Day celebrates Irish culture and offers university students a chance to take part in time-honoured traditions both on and off campus. The Tribune asked students how they mark the occasion.

For some, St. Patrick’s Day is a chance to engage with the city’s cultural events. Juniper Fu, U1 Arts, participates in daytime events that are orchestrated by the city, such as the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on rue Sainte-Catherine.

“When I was in Cégep, I learned a lot about the history of Montreal and how there are many Irish descendants and that they contributed to the development of the city,” Fu told The Tribune. “I do think St. Patrick’s Day is quite unique because of the city’s large Irish presence.” 

Beyond its historical significance, Fu views the holiday as a celebration of the upcoming spring season, as it marks a bright turning point from what she described as Montreal’s “depressing and bone-chilling” winter.

Nighttime activities, high-energy events, and celebrating through drinking, dancing, and fun are also a big part of St. Patrick’s Day culture. Gonzalo Rodriguez, U4 Arts, described his typical celebration as a night for raves and partying events.

“Because St. Patrick’s Day is a big part of the weekend, a lot of the people or companies who run these events go big,” he explained.

Rodriguez highlighted Montreal’s vibrant nightlife, especially along its main clubbing streets, where the mayhem never stops. While St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Montreal resemble those in other major cities, he suggested its scene is uniquely exciting.

“Montreal is the best place for celebrations,” Rodriguez claimed.

While many enjoy what Montreal offers for this holiday, other students like Sonia Narvaez, U1 Arts, and Lucy Heras, U1 Engineering, prefer to celebrate in a more calm and contained setting. 

“[I like] spending time with friends: I think it would be more fun to go to someone’s house than to go to a club because it can be crazy,” Narvaez stated.

“I feel like in general, though, that’s what we prefer. We don’t hate bars but we just prefer to be with friends,” Heras added. “It’s more comfortable.” 

Narvaez and Heras also emphasized that St. Patrick’s Day does not have to revolve around excessive drinking, despite McGill’s ‘work hard, play hard’ culture. They mentioned the Ginger Run, a student-friendly event that offers an alternative to heavy partying.

Another distinctive event that takes place on campus is the annual St Patrick’s Gerts celebration. Aaron Jain, U1 Science, discussed how there are also multiple alternative parties taking place on and around campus, thanks to the school’s location in the city.

“The same darty culture that you find at more suburban or isolated campuses is cool at McGill because you can go from bars and clubs to little courtyard parties that you would see at an apartment complex,” Jain told The Tribune. 

He also highlighted his preference for this unique celebration dynamic instead of the typical scene at most universities, which he described as “one large cult-following street party.” By emphasizing more intimate parties and courtyard gatherings close to campus, he described how, instead of excessiWve drinking in large crowds, celebrating becomes an opportunity to enjoy time with friends and make it more personal.
Overall, the campus and city offer a large variety of ways in which one can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Whether you like to enjoy city parades, nighttime raves, friendly gatherings, or on-campus events—such as 4 Floors which made a return this year—a versatile city like Montreal always has you covered.

Science & Technology

What makes a runnable city?

by Sarah McDonald on

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Curating a culture of active living is central to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainability and Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 3, healthy living, and SDG 13, climate action. Active living is a lifestyle that promotes physical activity as an integral part of daily life—whether it be cycling to work or choosing to walk instead of drive—which has been shown to improve health and boost creativity. 

However, creating societies built around active living goes beyond convincing everyone to take up a recreational sport. The infrastructure itself significantly influences the exercise choices people make. 

This relationship was recently explored by Grant McKenzie, associate professor in McGill’s Department of Geography, whose paper in the Journal of Transport Geography analyzed the effects of infrastructure on running habits, in particular focusing on the gender divide in recreational running.

“We looked at some spatial and temporal patterns, and we also looked at some regressions to basically tell us what factors in the built environment, as well as socioeconomic and demographic, contribute to where men and women would choose to run,” McKenzie said in an interview with The Tribune. 

Using data from Strava, an exercise-tracking app, McKenzie analyzed the habits of recreational runners in Washington D.C. and Montreal. His research supported previous findings—there is a clear gender divide in where and when people choose to run—but also provided new insight into the role infrastructure plays in these decisions.

While it was not surprising that women are more likely to run during the day than at night, the difference was more profound than expected, with only 8.8 per cent of running activities conducted by women in Montreal during the night—compared to 13.1 per cent of running activities by men.

“We looked into a couple cases in Montreal to find certain areas where there was a dominance of women running during the day, and then that completely disappeared, and [that same area] was more dominated by men in the evening and night,” McKenzie said.

While the presence of women runners decreased in some areas after nightfall, other areas saw an increase in women runners at night compared to during the day. Infrastructure played a key role in these patterns. 

The study found that at night, women preferred routes near bike lanes, parks, and public landmarks, illustrating how city design influences perceptions of safety.

“There’s a lot of evidence and research on things like street lights: Having street lights and having homes with their outdoor lights on has a big impact on where people choose to walk and the perception of safety in a neighbourhood,” McKenzie explained.

Interestingly, while McKenzie’s team initially hypothesized that crime levels would dictate where women ran, they found only a weak correlation. Instead, the perception of safety was a stronger determining factor.

“There’s some background from the social psychology literature on this: That crime actually isn’t a representation for perception of safety, and so perception of safety and crime are actually very different beasts,” McKenzie said.

These findings highlight the complex factors necessary to address to make active living accessible to all.

“A lot of [our findings] have big implications for how we organize our public space. We’re helping to answer what it means for public policy to encourage development, safe spaces, and the development of neighbourhoods for active living, and a lot of this work is aiming to help that discussion,” McKenzie explained.

Ultimately, this work amplifies the voices of those who rely on active transportation. In North America, cities are largely built around private vehicles, often overlooking the needs of pedestrians and cyclists. Addressing these gaps is key to the creation of truly accessible and vibrant urban spaces.

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Best and worst moments from the 2025 Oscars

by Bianca Sugunasiri, Isobel Bray, Annabella Lawlor, Charlotte Hayes on

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Daniel Blumberg wins Best Score for The Brutalist – Annabella Lawlor, Staff Writer

A stark clanging of percussive metal counts two eighth notes and one whole note. The plucked guts of the piano’s strings shudder in the stark wind, amongst a wave of tremendous brass. Softly grazed piano keys twinkle beneath the monumentality of Daniel Blumberg’s industrial soundscape for The Brutalist. The score, at first sentimental and triumphant, lures us into Brady Corbet’s vision of post-war American hope, revealing from its depths the landscape’s decay as it corrodes immigrant architect László Tóth’s fictitious ‘American Dream.’ 

Blumberg’s Oscar win for Best Score is one of the most well-deserved of the night. He renders every strike of marble, every treacherous spark, every severe structure of the film into towering melody. 

It’s also a win for London’s independent music scene. In his speech, Blumberg thanked the folks at Cafe OTO, a pioneering Dalston venue for avant-garde and improvisational music. A member of the OTO scene for over a decade, Blumberg brings its creative authenticity to the Oscars stage. By acknowledging his fellow musicians, he reminds us of the film score’s essence: A space for collaboration and melodic convergence.

A historic night for Costume Design – Isobel Bray, Contributor

Costume designers play an essential role in shaping a film’s visual identity, ensuring that every character—from leads to extras—fits seamlessly into the world of the story. This year, an actor from each nominated film took the stage to pay homage to the visionaries who dressed their on-screen personas, against a backdrop of colourfully sketched costumes from each film. From Glinda’s extravagant gowns in Wicked to the priestly garb in Conclave, each actor brought life to the diversity of skills exercised by their respective costume designers. This year’s presentation was a wonderful way to highlight these artists’ work, bringing well-deserved recognition to an often overlooked aspect of filmmaking.

This moment became even more special when Paul Tazewell, the costume designer for Wicked, made history as the first Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Costume Design. With a career spanning over 30 years in Broadway and film, Tazewell called the win “everything.” His attention to detail and love for the Ozian universe shone through in his designs, bringing a fresh but faithful touch to the beloved world of Wicked.

Adrien Brody and Halle Berry’s “payback” kiss—the new age handshake? – Bianca Sugunasiri, Staff Writer 

A notably scandalous moment of the 2025 Oscars was the “payback” kiss between Halle Berry and Adrien Brody (although I’m not sure that getting kissed by the Halle Berry can be considered payback). Brody, who won Best Actor this year for his role in The Brutalist, first won this Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 for his role in The Pianist—which made him the youngest actor to ever win in that category. 

Undoubtedly, his inappropriate behaviour on stage overshadowed that achievement when he infamously pulled an unsuspecting Halle Berry into a forceful kiss as she presented him with the 2003 Best Actor award. Berry later noted in an interview that the kiss wasn’t staged, describing her thoughts in the moment as, “What the f— is happening.” 22 years later, Berry approached Brody on the pre-ceremony red carpet, jokingly apologizing to his girlfriend, Georgiana Chapman, before kissing him. Although there appears to be no bad blood between the actors, I just have to wonder…whatever happened to an old-fashioned handshake? 

Latvia wins its first Oscar – Charlotte Hayes, Arts & Entertainment Editor
Hollywood’s Biggest Night saw Flow, a breathtaking wordless animated independent film created on the free animation software blender, took home the prize for Best Animated Feature, beating out a number of heavyweight contenders from Disney and DreamWorks. On top of its triumph as an independent film, Flow marks the first time a Latvian film has won an Oscar, and to say Latvia was excited is an understatement. A statue of the film’s protagonist, a small black cat, was erected in the capital city of Riga, and the directors received a hero’s welcome with a celebration thrown in their honour upon their return to the country.

Editorial, Opinion

Quebec’s potential ban on public prayer epitomizes the hypocrisies of selective secularism

by The Tribune Editorial Board on

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With the announcement of a new committee on secularism, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government is poised to tighten restrictions on religious expression, especially through the expansion of Bill 21—a 2019 law barring public employees from wearing religious symbols—and a potential ban on public prayer. The CAQ committee will assess how public institutions have implemented secularism since the bill’s enactment, and whether this implementation aligns with the province’s vision of secularism.

Quebec’s secularist policies have their roots in the Quiet Revolution, when the government reduced the role of the Catholic Church in public institutions both due to the church’s corruption and inefficiency during the Grande Noirceur and as a strategy to modernize Quebec’s economy and education system. Today, however, secularist legislation increasingly targets and disproportionately harms religious minorities while being justified under the guise of neutrality. Muslim women who wear the hijab are particularly injured by these policies, as exemplified by the banning of religious symbols and dress in public institutions. 

Religious groups whose attire is integral to their faith—including Sikh turbans and kirpans, Jewish kippahs, or hijabs—bear the oppressive weight of Bill 21’s regulations. Given that wearing a headscarf is, for many Muslims, a compulsory act of faith, the ban dangerously undermines the freedoms of religious practice. By contrast, Christian symbols, such as the famous Mount Royal cross, remain neatly exempted from the ban, as the bill contains a clause permitting religious symbols in public spaces if they represent a component of Quebec’s cultural heritage. As a result, the province’s Christian history is given preference and is permitted to persist publicly, a further testament to so-called “neutrality” as a facade for religious discrimination and xenophobia.

With the CAQ’s latest committee, restrictions are set to tighten even further, including potentially expanding prayer restrictions beyond public institutions to all public spaces. Quebec Premier François Legault has cited instances of Muslim Montrealers praying during pro-Palestinian protests as justification for the ban, a rationale that, by portraying individuals who choose to practice their faith during protests as more disruptive, threatening, or extremist than their fellow protestors, isolates and racializes religious minorities. 

Restrictions on public displays of religion will also only deepen the ostracization of religious minorities from public sector jobs, as they will be forced to either yield their religious expression or turn towards the private sector. As a result, the public sector will become increasingly homogenized and experience a stark drop in religious—and, by consequence, ethnic and racial—diversity. Such a blow to public sector diversity would not only disadvantage job-seekers but also undermine the quality of public services. Diverse employee backgrounds are imperative to ensuring public institutions comprehensively serve groups of all demographics. 

Such barriers to entering the public sector pose a particular risk to Quebec’s non-Christian immigrant populations, exacerbating cycles of mistreatment rooted in Canada’s already racially-exclusive history of immigration policies. Education policies further exemplify this discrimination, as Quebec offers in-province tuition rates for students immigrating from France and Belgium, nations with which the province has built relations of reciprocal tuition benefits. However, Quebec has not formed equivalent relations with French-speaking African nations, effectively excluding students from these countries from accessing reduced tuition. Together, these patterns of mistreatment for religious minorities reflect how the CAQ government has privileged its white, Christian population at the cost of minority groups, all while framing their actions as neutral. 
Quebec must end its use of secularism as a justification for discriminatory treatment of religious minorities and welcome diversity back into the public sector. Being exempt from Bill 21 and the proposed prayer ban, McGill has the opportunity to serve as a model for other institutions in Quebec by providing support for religious minorities within its faculty and student body. Particularly given the university’s international and religiously diverse demography, McGill must affirm its commitment to freedoms of religious expression on campus by reminding students that they are welcome. McGill has a responsibility to create spaces for religious minorities to safely and comfortably practice their religions, as well as to properly advertise and distribute existing resources through events and programming. In collaboration with student groups representing religious minorities on campus, McGill must offer support and allegiance to its future graduates, many of whom would be painfully disadvantaged by the work of this secularism committee.

Arts & Entertainment, Fashion

Angie Larocque brings Godfather chic to Paris Fashion Week

by Yusur Al-Sharqi on

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There is no such thing as “too dramatic” in fashion designer Angie Larocque’s world. Speaking to The Tribune from her car, she exudes both the glamour and grit that define her work. This year, from March 3 to 11, she represented Quebec on one of the biggest stages in fashion: Paris Fashion Week.

For Larocque, the moment was monumental. 

“I am the only Québecoise designer at Paris Fashion Week this year, though there was one a couple of years ago. It’s rare,” she said. “I am feeling very privileged, very lucky, very proud.”

Born in Gaspésie, Larocque draws inspiration from the rugged coastline and vast waters of her hometown. She speaks passionately about the untapped talent in the province, believing that Montreal’s rich artistic culture will, over time, carve out a larger space on the global stage. 

“There is a smaller market [in Quebec], and there are many designers and artists who have a lot of talent that is not appreciated here, so they leave,” she explained. “The cost of producing in Montreal is higher, but I feel it’s important to give work to our community.” 

Larocque’s 2025 collection is a love letter to cinematic drama, particularly The Godfather. The old-school mafia aesthetic—luxurious, sensual, and intense—feels like a natural fit for her.

 “I love the darkness, the passion, the fire,” she said. “Last year’s collection was all about drama […] this one is about love and loss.”

Her designs are steeped in a sense of fatal romance that is unmistakably Larocque’s. Black, red, and white dominate the collection, with each colour and fabric chosen deliberately. 

“Black lace is for the darkness, the drama,” she says. “Red is passion, fire. White is love.”

Larocque’s dresses celebrate the woman’s form with corsetry, sensual silhouettes, open backs, and lace detailing. Beyond beauty, she wants her clients to feel powerful.

 “When women wear my dresses, they feel sexy and confident, empowered,” she said. “That’s what matters.”

Though haute couture is often seen as exclusive, Larocque embraces its focus on craftsmanship. In fact, it’s what drives her passion: Working one-on-one with clients to compose a personal piece of art that captures the client’s “aura.” Her bridal gowns, in particular, are intimate projects. 

“It’s special,” she said. “Choosing the fabric, the details—living that moment with them.”

Larocque has always known she was meant for fashion; she laughs as she recalls sketching designs into the margins of her notebook instead of paying attention in math class. At first, she pursued hairdressing and makeup, working on film sets and in theatre. But the pandemic forced her to reevaluate. 

“I had a child, and I was buying local clothes for my son,” she said. “And I thought, ‘Why am I not doing this myself?’”

She began with the children’s clothing brand Biggismall, and within one year, she transitioned to high fashion. However, success in fashion is no easy feat; for Larocque, it’s all about intention. 

“I work three jobs, I’m a mom, I sleep four hours a night,” she highlighted. “I never stop […] You have to manifest it. Write down your goals. Take baby steps. Nothing is impossible.”

Though Paris has been a dream, Larocque is focused on what’s ahead. She’s planning her own event—separate from Montreal Fashion Week or Montreal’s Mode, Arts, Divertissement  (M.A.D.) Festival—to make sure her work reaches a local audience and stands apart from mainstream fashion. Larocque’s independent approach isn’t just about showcasing her work; it’s about shaping a distinct identity that aligns with the bold, confident women she designs for.

It’s unsurprising that her dream celebrity client is someone who exudes this vision: Angelina Jolie. “Or Eva Green. Monica Bellucci,” Larocque said. Her creations are made for the femme fatale—women who are striking, confident, and undeniably daring.

Daring: Much like her dresses, and much like Larocque herself. The world of fashion may not yet fully recognize Quebec’s talent, but with designers like Angie Larocque, that’s bound to change.

Art, Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

What we did not like this break

by Yusur Al-Sharqi, Charlotte Hayes, Kellie Elrick on

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The Arts & Entertainment section has decided to complain. We present an attack on architecture, travel entertainment, and terrible takes on television.

The CN Tower – Kellie Elrick, Arts & Entertainment Editor

I do not like the CN Tower! Visiting Toronto over reading week, I stood in King’s College Circle, admiring the oaks and arches and widow’s walks and—eurgh! There it was. It’s grey and bland and phallic (the positioning of the Rogers Centre does not help). I have no desire to go up the CN Tower, and I don’t want to rotate while I eat. Towers, in general, do not do much for me. The only tower I have climbed is the Tour Montparnasse, which is objectively not a very good tower (although perhaps one of the benefits of these aesthetically abominable towers is that once you’re inside, you don’t have to look at them). It feels wrong to bash a Canadian monument right now—and I do take great comfort in the fact that it’s taller than any tower in the United States—but the fact remains. Fucking ugly tower.

The (lack of) TVs on planes – Charlotte Hayes, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Look, I know everyone on the plane has a phone. And I know every one of those phones can download hours of Netflix, perfectly tailored to their taste and flight time, but I’m still mad about it. Where did the little seatback TVs go? What am I supposed to do when my phone inevitably dies after I spend three hours calling my mom because I got to the airport way too early? My readings? Don’t be ridiculous. The sacred art of the plane movie is disappearing before our very eyes. Future generations will never know the unique joy of flicking on that tiny screen and settling in for a mid-budget action-romcom—the kind you almost saw in theatres but never quite made time for. Sure, with a streaming service, I can curate my movie selection to match my taste exactly (and avoid awkwardly fast-forwarding through some risqué content with a child seated behind me), but it’s just not the same. The joy is entirely lost if I know what movies are available even a second before I’m in my seat. It’s a real tragedy.

TV isn’t real life—and that’s the point – Yusur Al-Sharqi, Managing Editor

Nothing on Earth irritates me more than the imbecilic complaint that “this would never happen in real life.” Okay? And?

Over the break, I heard from several people they disliked certain TV shows because they were “unrealistic”—Grey’s Anatomy, Euphoria, even Gossip Girl. But do you really want to see what the life of a surgeon or a high school student is like? Do you want to spend six hours standing in an operating room, elbow-deep in bloody intestines, or in a classroom watching a bunch of teenagers scroll through TikTok for an entire school day? That’s your prerogative, I guess… but personally, I love the drama. 

The most absurd criticism I heard was that Keeping Up with the Kardashians isn’t realistic. No kidding. The show is a meticulously staged, champagne-soaked fever dream—and that’s what makes it a work of art. You can’t airbrush your face in real life, but Kris Jenner’s flawlessly digitally enhanced face on my screen? Iconic. If you’re looking for reality, then maybe reality TV isn’t for you.

The point is that TV isn’t meant to reflect our everyday lives. It’s made to entertain, captivate, and sometimes be totally absurd. While I’m escaping reality in the plane crashes and hospital shootings and cocaine-laden parties that grace my screen, you realism-lovers can go pay bills or wait in traffic for an hour. Enjoy that!

For favourable takes and recommendations, see our previous articles on ‘What we liked this break.’

Science & Technology

Energy poverty in Canada demands political attention

by Antoine Larocque on

More in Science & Technology:

With 20 per cent of Canadian households facing energy poverty—when individuals lack reliable and affordable access to energy services—it is surprising how little political and research attention this social issue receives.

Motivated by this research gap, Mylène Riva, an associate professor in McGill’s Department of Geography, and her collaborators set out to identify hotspots of energy poverty in Canada and the socioeconomic factors driving them.

“Energy poverty is a situation that happens when people cannot access enough energy services at home to meet their needs, maintain healthy indoor temperature, and live in dignity,” Riva explained in an interview with The Tribune.

In their study, Riva and her collaborators first determined Canada’s geographic distribution of energy poverty at the municipal level using data from the 2016 Canadian Census. The study uses two common thresholds to define households as energy-poor: The narrower one was spending more than 5.4 per cent of their total income on domestic energy services—a figure that is twice the national median—while the more conservative benchmark was 10 per cent—a common figure used in other countries.

The authors found that clusters of energy poverty—localized areas with characteristically high energy poverty—are not evenly distributed across the country.

“When we look at the spatial clustering, we see that [energy poverty] is especially problematic in Atlantic provinces, Ontario, and the northern parts of provinces,” Riva reported.

Nearly two million Canadians live in municipalities classified by the study as energy-poor. However, this figure is likely an underestimate, particularly in urban areas where many renters have utilities included in their rent, making energy costs more challenging to track.

Next, the researchers identified socioeconomic, demographic, and housing factors underlying energy poverty. They found that older populations, higher unemployment rates, lower incomes, and old or unaffordable housing were all associated with increased energy poverty. Rural municipalities were also more vulnerable.

Although the study did not explicitly analyze energy prices, the researchers suspect regional differences in the cost of energy may contribute to disparities. Atlantic Canada and Ontario, where energy prices are high, appear to correlate with elevated levels of energy poverty.

These findings highlight geographical inequalities in energy access and have strong policy implications.

“Energy poverty and climate change are happening in the context of the severe housing shortage and housing affordability crisis in Canada,” Riva said. “So, there should be more effort to build affordable housing, but also housing that is energy-efficient. There also are a lot of investments in improving the energy efficiency of houses.”

Beyond housing, policies such as increasing the minimum income and capping electricity prices could substantially benefit people facing financial hardship.

“My hope is that this research and others that look at energy poverty across Canada bring this issue a little further up on the policy agenda,” Riva said. “In a country like Canada, it is unacceptable that 20 per cent of households are potentially facing energy poverty.”

Moving forward, Riva advocates for future research on the impacts of energy poverty in the summer. So far, she has investigated this topic in Nova Scotia and Quebec from a health perspective.

“Through research that we have done in Bridgewater, for example, we see that people living with activity limitations or chronic health problems are more likely to experience energy poverty,” Riva said. “They also might be more disproportionately impacted by the health effects of living in cold dwellings [in the winter] or hot dwellings in the summer.”In the face of climate change, Canada plans to transition toward more sustainable energy. To make a just transition, Riva emphasized that we must consider the differential impacts that policy decisions can make on various groups: The energy sector should focus on social equity and address the needs of vulnerable people, who often deal with socioeconomic challenges beyond energy poverty, during the transition to cleaner energy.

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