By the numbers: How Montreal's 375th and Canada's 150th anniversaries stack up

It's no secret that Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre has gone big with the city's 375th birthday.

With hundreds of parties throughout the year and millions put toward legacy projects, Coderre has made the milestone a priority as he heads toward this year'smunicipal election in November.

The celebrations for Canada's 150th, by comparison, havebeen more modest in scope.

• ANALYSIS |Will375th celebrations cement Coderre's legacy or be his undoing?

While it's difficult to compare outright, the total costs of Montreal's 375th projects add up to almost $1 billion, while Canada's 150th, which involves fewer large-scale legacy projects, has a price tagreported to be around $500 million.

Why Canada may have been prudent

Jack Jedwab, president of the Association for Canadian studies and of the Canadian Institute for Identities and Migration, believes Canada's "fiscal prudence ... reflects the mood of a lot of Canadians right now."

He says that might be due topast spending improprieties, such as the federal sponsorship scandal.

"The same prudence, Ithink, wasn't exercised in Montreal's case," he said with a laugh. "You know, our mayor likes to think big."

Whether you're comparing Montreal's overall $1 billion or just the $110 milliondevoted tocelebrations,Projet Montral councillorAlex Norris says it's all too much.

"They key fact is the comparison between the overall figures. If the entire country spends half of what the city of Montreal is spending to celebrate an anniversary, something's badly out of whack," he said.

Total budgets

Montreal:evaluated at $1,023,524,138 by Radio-Canada'sLa Vrif.

Canada:$500 million.

The parties

Montreal: According to Montreal's 375thAnniversaryCelebration Society's website, there are 691 events for the birthday throughout the year. The society was allocated a budget of$110 million, plus a $250,000 emergency fund.

It organized the anniversary's inauguration bash on the city's founding date, May 17. Coderrecalled for are-doafter a police union protest interrupted the first, but wouldn't reveal the cost of either.

Canada:Canada's 150thcelebrations website also lists year-round happenings, 610 of which are "community events" and 38 of which are "signature events."

The federal government is spending a total$200 million on events:$100 million for community events; $80 million signature events, such as the Walrus Talks; and $20 millionon major events, including Parliament Hill weekend, costing $2.5 million.

The legacy projects

Montreal:The total cost of the city's legacy projects adds up to more than $800 million andMontreal is using $300 million from its municipal budget to help fund the projects.

Thatincludesthe lighting of theJacques Cartierat $39.5 million, building a new amphitheatre in ParcJean-Drapeaufor$73.4 million, and a $78-million update forthe Old Port's Alexandra Pier.

Canada:The government created a $300-million program to fund infrastructure projects in communities across the country. It's helping update arenas, libraries and community centres.

The biggest legacy projectis a $110.5-million addition to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

The humans

Montreal: The federal bridge corporation said 400,000 people watched the May 17 light show near the Jacques Cartier and 1.8 million watched on TV or online. As for the rest of the year, Montrealsaidit's expecting 11.2 million tourists to visit the city in 2017.

A thousandpeople worked or were consulted on375thfestivities over the past for years, thecelebration societysays.

Canada:Another 400,000 people were expected for the festivities on Parliament Hill Canada Day weekend, though it`s unclear yet how many attended. The capital anticipates about 10 million people will visitthis year.

Who's footing the bill?

Montreal:A Radio-Canada analysis found that Montreal is paying 41 per cent of the $1 billion the375th is costing, while theQuebec government is paying 32 per cent of it, and Canada five per cent.

The remaining 22 per cent is being covered by private enterprises, the Communaut mtropolitaine de Montraland thePort de Montral.

Canada:The $500-million budget is funded by the federal government, but some provincial governments have set money aside to support projects in honour of the 150th as well.