A couple of yr after coming under fire for removing the words “Go! Canadiens Go!” from the electronic signs on city buses over concerns about Quebec’s language laws, the Montreal transit agency is trying something latest to indicate its love for the Habs.
The agency has recruited 4 members of the NHL team to announce the names of underground metro stations in French during trips because the cars go through the stops next to the team’s home on the Bell Centre.
It means commuters can now hear the voices of Lane Hutson, Juraj Slafkovsky, Jakub Dobes and Alexandre Texier as they approach the Bonaventure and Lucien-L’Allier metro stations in downtown Montreal.
”That is Lane Hutson, next station Lucien-L’Allier,’” says the voice of the Canadiens star defenceman, in certainly one of the recordings now being played on the metro.
Texier, who represented France on the Winter Olympics in February, told The Canadian Press it felt “incredible” to listen to his voice within the metro. ”Some friends sent me the announcement,” he said, adding, ”I feel people is perhaps excited to take the metro … to listen to the voices, because Montreal is all about hockey.”
A transit agency spokesperson says the campaign also marks a primary for the metro system, because it introduces latest voices to a well-recognized a part of the ride.
“That is the primary time we’ve specifically switched that voice for the subsequent station to this one, which features our 4 Canadiens players,” said Laurence Houde-Roy.
She said the initiative is supposed to bring the energy of the Stanley Cup playoffs into on a regular basis commutes, giving riders a small but noticeable reminder of the joy surrounding the team.
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“It’s really a option to get in on the playoffs hype,” said Houde-Roy.
Jean-François Dumas, president of Influence Communication, a Montreal-based media evaluation firm, praised the campaign, saying it draws on “the strong emotional attachment and sense of belonging Montrealers have toward the Canadiens and their roots in the neighborhood.”
He said it also demonstrates how the Habs are ”woven into on a regular basis life” in Montreal and a part of the town’s broader cultural identity.
Houde-Roy said the concept stemmed from a social media video produced in partnership with the Canadiens, showing players inside a metro station setting, delivering short phrases in French.
“It generated a lot interest that we thought, ‘Why not recreate the voices saying that famous next-stop line?’” she said.
The transit agency said the team chosen the 4 players based on their availability.
‘We desired to have Québécois players, but their schedule didn’t allow it, but (we) still have one player who’s 100 per cent francophone with Alexandre Texier,” said Houde-Roy.
The response from the general public has been largely positive, with commuters sharing their reactions online and in media coverage, Houde-Roy added.
”You’ll be able to still see from the recordings that they’re doing thoroughly. They’re really wanting to participate on this recording. We actually appreciate that.”
The initiative builds on a long-standing partnership between the transit agency and the Canadiens, whose games significantly increase transit use, particularly across the Bell Centre before and after puck drop. “We’re, after all, adapting our service accordingly,” said Houde-Roy, noting adjustments to operations to reflect the surge in passengers around home games.
Some city buses are also joining the playoff push, displaying “Go Habs Go!” on their digital destination signs. It’s as much as the bus drivers to showcase the message, however the phrase needs to be manually added to each bus.
”It doesn’t take long, but you’ve gotten to make the change manually for every circuit board,” explained Houde-Roy.
Until then, you would possibly have the ability to see a couple of ”Allez les Canadiens” messages, the French equivalent, on a couple of buses.
The agency had previously dropped the word “Go” on the buses after a criticism to Quebec’s language watchdog, which pressed transit officials concerning the issue in a series of emails sent between May 2024 and January 2025, in line with correspondence obtained by The Canadian Press.
The language watchdog would later update its online dictionary, following a public outcry, to verify that use of the word “go” was “partially legitimized” in Quebec as a option to show encouragement for a sports team, but that “allez” was still the popular term.
As of now, about 38 per cent of buses — 705 out of 1,838 — have been updated to display “Go Habs Go!” The transit agency goals to have all buses able to displaying the message by April 30.
Houde-Roy said “Go Habs Go!” is deeply rooted in fan culture and widely utilized by the team.
Meantime, the special metro announcements will remain in place all through the Canadiens’ playoff run — or, as Houde-Roy put it, “until they win the Stanley Cup.”
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