Who Killed the Montreal Expos: A must-see documentary

I've been eagerly awaiting the release of director Jean-François Poisson's Netflix documentary “Qui a tué les Expos de Montréal?

Let me tell you, it was well worth the wait, so much so that I loved it. On more than one occasion, I found myself glassy-eyed, swallowed up in the sofa, trying to understand how on earth it could have come to this! Seeing the most beautiful and the ugliest of human beings.

Crying, recalling my fond memories of the Montreal Expos and everything they represent not only for me, but also for my family, my friends, their many fans and the Québécois people.

This is precisely where Monsieur Poisson hits his target with this documentary: he goes for our guts. The work is both rational and moving, thanks to the heartfelt testimonials of the hand-picked participants. Hats off to the director for bringing together so many testimonials from players, journalists and managers. Hats off to all of them, too, for testifying with authenticity and transparency.

It's easy to see why the Expos were nicknamed Nos Amours, because it was such a beautiful love story. On the other hand, by loving too much, we sometimes love badly. We come to protect ourselves. We forget what's essential. Ego takes over, and so do financial interests. We forget the genesis of why we loved, love, will love and believed blindly in the first place.

Sure, it's clearly mentioned in the 90 minutes of viewing, baseball is a business. That said, even before it's a business with big money, baseball is a game. The 10-year-old kid doesn't care how much his favorite player earns a year, he wants to see him hit home runs. If we'd seen the Expos with a child's heart, they'd still be in Montreal today.

WHO KILLED THE MONTREAL EXPOS? premieres October 21.

Twenty years after Montreal lost its beloved Expos, fans still want answers. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the controversial decisions, setbacks, and missteps that sealed the team's fate.

Featuring interviews with Hall of… pic.twitter.com/oud6ysZ66F

– Netflix Canada (@Netflix_CA) September 10, 2025

A true saga

The 36-year life of the Expos is covered, but as the title suggests, it's really the dark years of the Expos that are brought to the fore.

We come to understand that there was a major turning point in the history of the Expos and baseball in the 1980s. Money was taking on a greater role in sport, and Quebec's economy was struggling to keep pace. The Expos' owner at the time, Charles Bronfman, was no longer strong enough to support a ball club in Montreal, and the sale became official in 1991. A phrase that stuck with me at the time was: If the richest man in Canada can't afford a team, then who can?

From this point on, the documentary takes on an air of its own, and we begin to see the quagmire that ensued.

One event after another

Everything is examined with a fine-tooth comb. The creation of the consortium of Québécois interests led by Claude Brochu, the 1994 strike, the fire sale, the crisis within the consortium, the idea of a new stadium downtown and Mr. Brochu's departure. Then came the arrival of Jeffrey Loria and David Samson with their authoritarian governance and their departure from Montreal like thieves. Finally, sadly, the last years, the last game, the last withdrawal. The collective mourning.

Two characters stand out in this feature film. Claude Brochu and David Samson. Let's start with the latter. Arrogant is the word that comes to mind, and Mr. Samson is even proud of it. He won't be making any friends in Montreal as of October 21, 2025, let me tell you. Jeffrey Loria doesn't intervene, and maybe it's for the best, because he certainly wouldn't have had anything good to say.

In Claude Brochu's case, I saw another side to the man. I saw a person who, despite setbacks, gave his heart and soul to the Expos, rightly or wrongly. That's what I want to remember about Mr. Brochu, and I leave it to you to draw your own conclusions.

In short, Who Killed the Montreal Expos? is so good, it can be consumed in the blink of an eye. Do we have the answer to the question posed to us? Yes and no, because like everything in life, it's nuanced. However, you'll be able to draw your own conclusion and make a little more peace with your grief.

A thought for our supporters

I've always said it, and I'll say it even more now that I've seen it: it wasn't the fans who abandoned the Expos, it was they who were abandoned. Abandoned by a lack of vision, a lack of circumstance and, above all, a lack of prospects.

21 years after their departure, the Montreal Expos still exist in the collective memory and are still loved. This summer, I went to Bratislava in Slovakia and saw someone wearing an Expos cap. Just last night, I was talking about it with my friend sitting at the bar with Alexandre the waiter.

This documentary proves even more how important they were in Quebec's history. Above all, it reminds us that a comeback by the Expos would work.

This content was created with the help of AI.