during my one and only visit to Montreal in January, 2016, homeless people were immediately outside my hotel (Governeur (sp?)) sleeping on the heat grates......and a dude tried to sell me some cocaine on St. Catherine......I'm tolerant and aware of my surroundings and none of this bothered me in the least......fearing Montreal would be the Paris of North America (pretentious and rude), I, instead, found Montreal to be utterly unpretentious, friendly, low-key, fun, and easy to navigate......