MONTRÉAL — Montrealers who brave frigid temperatures for weekly polar plunges in the St. Lawrence River are worried that they’re being barred winter access to a popular beach.
The temperature hovered around -13 C with a strong wind chill this morning as Mark Nikiforov and about a dozen others lowered themselves into a hole they had sawed in the ice for a New Year’s Eve plunge.
Nikiforov says members of Montreal’s Polar Bear Club have been doing their winter plunges for years at Verdun beach.
He says it’s the safest place because the current is slower than other spots along the shoreline and there’s a sandy bottom with a gradual descent.
But the Verdun borough recently issued a notice reminding citizens that the beach is closed for swimming in the winter and encouraging people to report infractions to police.
Nikiforov says the polar bear club has started a petition asking the city and borough to meet with them to discuss a set of rules that can be put in place to allow cold-water plunges.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 31, 2025.
The Canadian Press
