Montreal mayor says her car was towed and is blaming potholes for two flat tires

By Canadian Press on February 3, 2026.

MONTREAL — After saying she blew a pair of tires on one of her city’s busiest streets, Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada is pledging to tackle what’s causing the problem.

“So there were two potholes on Notre-Dame street,” Martinez Ferrada said in a video posted on social media Monday evening. “We are going to bring in solutions, but in the meantime, we are being towed. And I know it just doesn’t make sense what’s on these roads.”

Over the past few weeks, Montreal drivers have been grappling with worsening road conditions after a January warm spell led to the rapid formation of potholes across the city.

Martinez Ferrada broke into laughter on the video as a tow-truck driver standing next to her commented on her talking about the infamous potholes and then running into them.

She was driving on a street that includes a section that was named Montreal’s worst road in CAA Québec’s 2025 online citizen vote.

“Two tires, two flat tires,” said Martinez Ferrada, alongside the tow-truck driver.

While this is the first winter since Martinez Ferrada was elected in November, the potholes have caused long-standing bumps and headaches for Montreal drivers, according to CAA Québec, which is often responding to calls and providing services for the affected motorists.

“The condition of the roadways and highways in the greater Montreal area is a cause for concern,” said CAA Québec spokesperson Simon Bourassa.

The mayor’s office has not yet shared details of how she plans to fix the problem.

Martinez Ferrada has said the city is struggling to keep up with the potholes in recent weeks because it doesn’t have enough functioning equipment to repair the damage.

CAA Québec said flat-tire service calls in Montreal and Laval jumped 75 per cent from Jan. 9 to 20 compared with last year. By comparison, the Quebec City region saw an increase of 35 per cent, while the provincial increase was 50 per cent.

Across Quebec, vehicles were towed in six per cent of all the calls for flat-tires during that period, Bourassa added. ”It’s significant. We didn’t notice that before,” he said.

He said the increase in towing is linked to the severity of damage to the vehicles, as well as the fact that many newer vehicles no longer carry spare tires and instead rely on repair kits, which are often ineffective.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2026.

The Canadian Press