Canadians Are Obsessed With Montreal Bagels — But One Bakery Gets Most Of The Attention

Canadians are hungrier than ever for Montreal bagels and rightly so, the sesame-crowned golden dough rings are a city treasure.

Google Trends shows online searches for the local specialty have been spiking over the past year across the country. But one bakery, in particular, has been garnering a majority of the attention.

While ChatGPT couldn't settle the great Montreal bagel debate, it seems online crowds have picked their favourite between bagel-making rivals St-Viateur and Fairmount.

Over the past year, Fairmount Bagel was searched in Canada 3.5 times more than St-Viateur Bagel. In Quebec, more specifically, Fairmount garnered three times the online traffic of St-Viateur.

In fact, Google data shows that Fairmount Bagel is searched more than St-Viateur Bagel in every province.

But while the online scales seem tipped toward Fairmount, in-person celebrity visits seem to consistently favour St-Viateur, so its word-of-mouth game remains pretty strong.

Aside from bakeries, Canadians are showing a record number of bagel-related queries online.

"Everything bagel" is topping the search charts, no doubt because the delightful savoury bread is a go-to comfort food, especially during the winter.

"Bagel sandwich" and "homemade bagel" were second and third most searched, in all likelihood because those who live outside of Montreal must rely on their own culinary skills to enjoy a proper bite.

And in fourth and fifth place are "New York style bagel recipe" and "Montreal bagel," in that order, which suggests Canadians need to sort out their priorities.

Here are the top 10 bagel-related Google searches in Canada:

1. Everything Bagel
2. Bagel sandwich
3. Homemade bagel
4. New York-style bagel recipe
5. Montreal bagel
6. Protein bagels
7. Yogurt tuna salad bagel
8. Keto bagel
9. Smoked salmon bagel
10. Cinnamon raisin bagel

Opening a new restaurant or bar or have an exciting update to share about an existing one? We want to know about it! Connect with us here.