The Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens, will be returning to 50 per cent capacity as of Feb. 21 and could return to 100 per cent by March 14, Quebec premier Francois Legault said Tuesday. The Canadiens play five more home games before the 50 per-cent limit will go into effect. On March 15, the day after the team may be able to return to 100 per cent capacity, the Canadiens begin a six-game homestand.
Other provinces have said they are also looking at easing their COVID-19 measures. Alberta was to hold a news conference later Tuesday, while Manitoba and Ontario have said they are prepared to loosen restrictions in the coming weeks.
Montreal was among the first Canadian teams this season to implement attendance restrictions aimed at stemming the spread of COVID-19, shuttering the Bell Centre to fans in mid-December. That decision, the strongest measure taken by a province that had an NHL team, came on the heels of Ontario's provincial government limiting in-arena capacity to 50 per cent. Other provinces followed a model similar to Ontario's.
With all seven Canadian teams playing under varying levels of attendance restrictions, the NHL postponed a number of Canadian team games, eventually rescheduling them for a later date when more fans would be allowed back in the building. The rescheduled games are predominantly slated to take place in February, though some are set to be played in March as well.
Quebec's projection of a mid-March return to 100 per cent capacity aligns with a recent prediction from the Ontario government.
Ontario's attendance expectation was unveiled at the end of January as part of a three-step plan, detailing the province's outline to slowly re-open from enhanced public health restrictions imposed at the start of the new year.
In Ontario, all proof of vaccination requirements and other public health measures are expected to remain in place for fans attending games after the capacity restrictions are lifted.
Legault said he expected the province's mask mandate and vaccine passport rules to stay in place until at least March 14.
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