A while back, on our way to the light festival at the Montreal Botanical Garden, I noticed a billboard across from the Olympic Stadium. It was for the Montreal pet expo. I was curious what a pet expo looks like, so I put it on the calendar. On the afternoon of Saturday, November 7, my wife, our kid and I went to the stadium.
Inside, the hall was full of shows, breeders and supply booths, all for people who keep dogs and cats. I had never seen people this serious about grooming and caring for their animals. We only have fish at home, but we spent two hours looking around a world we’d never seen.
If you’re coming from outside Montreal, you could stay a night at a downtown hotel and pair the Montreal pet expo with the Biodome, which sits in the same Olympic Park.
| Decision | What it depends on | What we did |
|---|---|---|
| Go or skip | Mostly dogs and cats; reptiles, mini pigs, hedgehogs and ferrets too | Went without a pet, the three of us |
| Tickets | Same price at the door and online | Bought at the box office |
| Getting there | Metro or car | Car, free street parking a few blocks away |
| Time spent | Whether you stay for the judging | About 2 hours |
| Afterward | Dinner within walking distance | Mushroom burger at Café L’Adresse |
| Pair it with | Same Olympic Park | Biodome (guided visit with tickets) |
I’ve written separately about the Montreal Botanical Garden light festival, on the way to which we spotted the billboard for this expo, and about the Biodome and the five Espace pour la vie museums in the same Olympic Park.
Contents
01What SNAC is
| What happens | What we saw |
|---|---|
| Shows | Numbered cat-judging tables, prize ribbons |
| Breeders | Dog and cat breeder booths, information from a Quebec breeders’ association |
| Rescue and adoption | Shelter and animal sanctuary booths |
| Supplies and samples | Dog biscuits, cat treats, dog waste bags, kangaroo and seal dog treats |
| Small animals | Mini pigs, ferrets, hedgehogs, rabbits, reptiles |
| Performances | A diving pool where dogs leap into the water |
Past the box office, rows of booths filled a high-ceilinged hall. Next to the judging area ran booths promoting pet food and supplies. For anyone who loves dogs and cats, it seems like a good place to be.
As we made the rounds, samples piled up in our hands: dog and cat treats, dog waste bags. We have no animal at home to use them on, so I plan to pass them along to friends who have dogs and cats.
Our kid wrote about the moment we walked in like this:
Firstly, when we entered, there were dozens of stores selling animal food, not pens with cute animals! We looked around and saw nothing so we asked a service person. Surprisingly, she said that there were animals lying everywhere! That was the start of our hunt.
02Tickets and getting there
Admission
- Adults
- C$20.25
- Seniors 65+, students
- C$18.25
- Ages 5–11
- C$16.25
- Ages 4 and under
- Free
Good to know
- Pets
- Animals brought from outside are not allowed in.
- Metro
- 2-minute walk from Pie-IX station on the Green Line
- Car
- P1 underground lot at the stadium; we parked on the street a few blocks away
We bought our tickets at the box office. The price was the same as online.
A large sign next to the box office said animals brought from outside are not allowed in. It’s called a pet expo, but this isn’t an event you bring your own dog to. We took our paper tickets and headed through the entrance.
By metro, get off at Pie-IX station on the Green Line. The station takes its name from the street, which is named for Pope Pius IX. We drove and parked for free on the street a few blocks from the stadium.
03The cat show
- Numbered cagesEntrants wait their turn in numbered pens
- Body and coatThe judge takes each cat out and lifts it to look at the body and legs, checks the head, ears and eyes, then brushes the fur backward to feel the coat
- TailThe judge runs a hand from the base of the tail to the tip, checking for kinks. A kinked tail can cost points or lead to disqualification
- Feather toyThe judge waves a toy in front of the cat to see how it reacts. A cat that plays is taken as a sign of good health and good temperament
- RibbonsCats that score well get a ribbon on their cage
The cat show area was a long line of white, partitioned tables, each with a number. The judges took the cats out of their cages one at a time, lifted them up and went over them all the way down to the fur on the tail. They also waved a feather-like toy to see how each cat responded. Cats that did well got a ribbon on their cage. In the diary, our kid called it “a competition that took notes of the best cat by playing with it.” Even having owned a cat myself, I found it fascinating.
I’ve kept a cat before, and I still found this fascinating. There are people this devoted to caring for and grooming their animals.
04Breeders, rescues and picture books
Breeder booths
- What
- Breeders presenting dogs and cats by breed
- What stood out
- Prize ribbons; a Quebec dog breeders’ association guide on how to spot a responsible breeder
Shelters and sanctuaries
- What
- Refuge Notre-Dame-des-Bêtes, a shelter, and Le Grimoire des Bêtes, an animal sanctuary
- What stood out
- A booth that brought along dogs in its care
Every breeder booth had prize ribbons hanging in rows. Next to them were booths for a shelter and an animal sanctuary. At the shelter booth, dogs in its care were resting inside a pen.
At the breeder booths, dogs were resting on blankets. A French bulldog had its tongue out, and a long-haired sheepdog lay on a purple blanket.
Something else that was new to me: booths that make and sell picture books starring your pet. The illustrations and stories were mostly made with AI, and the last page of each book had a photo of the real animal who plays the lead. One booth even brought the real animal, dressed in the same outfit as in the book. There were a few booths like this, and our kid was interested too.
05Animals we petted and peered at
- 2:25 p.m.Arrived at the Olympic Stadium, bought tickets at the box office
- 3:10 p.m.Hedgehog, rabbit and puppy booths
- 3:25 p.m.Mini pigs
- 3:40 p.m.Cat show
- 3:50 p.m.Petting a ferret, dog breeder booths
- 4 p.m.Reptile booth
- 4:05 p.m.Dog-diving pool
- 4:30 p.m.Left the stadium for dinner
Some of the animals at the Montreal pet expo you could pet. We stroked a hedgehog and petted a ferret, which looks a lot like a weasel. Our kid liked the rabbits best, and looking at the dogs and cats, said they wanted one of their own.
I’d heard of people keeping pigs as pets, but seeing it in person, I could see how people do it. I thought the mini pigs were adorable. In a pen lined with wood shavings, two spotted pigs wandered around with their snouts down, rooting through the floor.
The reptiles came from Magazoo, a Montreal reptile shop that opened in 1994. Bearded dragons, scorpions and tarantulas sat in glass tanks, each with its own name tag. Some looked fragile; some were colorful and pretty.
Along one side of the hall was a long pool with a jumping platform at one end. It was the stage for Aqua-Dogs, a diving dog show, which looks like dock diving: dogs jumping off the platform into the water. We may have come between shows. A dog fresh out of the pool was off to the side, shaking itself dry.
Near the pool we also met a greyhound in a red scarf and a Sheltie puppy resting its chin on someone’s hand.
Our kid’s favorite part was the dog treat shop we stopped at last. Freeze-dried seal and kangaroo meat sat on the shelves, and our kid filled a sample bag with seal meat, kangaroo meat and a duck heart. The diary entry reads:
The shop was a place for luxurious dog owners!
What surprised me the most were the kangaroo meat! I had thought that killing kangaroos was illegal, but what I was looking at was kangaroo meat.
06After the expo: Café L’Adresse on foot
We left the stadium around 4:30 p.m. and walked to Café L’Adresse, close to where we had parked. We ate dinner there from 4:45 to 5:30 p.m.
Besides burgers and poutine (fries, cheese curds and gravy), the menu also had tajine, couscous and brunch.
We ordered the mushroom burger, the house burger from the top of the menu, a kids’ burger with fries and the Buffalo chicken poutine.
This place was excellent. The house burger was a good, honest burger, and the mushroom burger tasted like something I probably couldn’t get anywhere else.
It was close to where we had parked, too. If we’re in this part of town again, we’ll probably go back.
Frequently asked questions
QIs the Montreal pet expo worth it if you don’t have a pet?
If you like dogs and cats, yes. Just know going in that it’s an expo for pet owners rather than a place built for looking at animals. Between the cat show, the diving dogs and the small animals you can pet, two hours went by quickly with our kid.
QIs it held every year?
SNAC takes place in Montreal every November. It was held at Place Bonaventure in 2018 and at the Olympic Stadium in 2023 and 2026. There is also a separate edition in Quebec City. Check the official SNAC website for the next dates and venue.
Wrap-up
The Montreal pet expo puts the whole world of dog and cat owners in one place. I had never seen people this devoted to caring for and grooming their animals. Our kid liked the rabbits best, and I thought the mini pigs were adorable. Afterward we walked to Café L’Adresse for a mushroom burger. Our kid ended the diary like this:
In conclusion, I’d love to go there again to feel the pets and see them up close.
Reading about the Biodôme, the Botanical Garden and the Insectarium, all in the same Olympic Park, makes it easier to plan a full day out. The Botanical Garden light festival, where we first saw the Montreal pet expo ad, is a fall event; this year it ended on November 1.
Plan your visit
If it’s your first time in Montreal
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