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The Alouettes couldn’t take what former Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau used to call the “usual route” for championship parades when the Canadiens were a dynasty, winning six Stanley Cups during the 1970s.

Chunks of Ste-Catherine St. are dug up now as Montreal’s never-ending Construction Festival continues 12 months a year. So the Alouettes had to find a new route for their Grey Cup parade Wednesday after beating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28-24 in the championship game Sunday in Hamilton.

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Instead, the parade to celebrate the Alouettes’ eighth Grey Cup championship went east along de Maisonneuve Blvd., starting at the corner of Crescent St. and ending in the Quarter des spectacles at Place des Arts.

No, Mayor Valérie Plante didn’t insist on the players riding bicycles. Instead, they were on four double-decker buses that wound their way through a huge crowd. Thankfully, the buses didn’t have to navigate around any orange construction cones. Behind the buses were Montreal police officers on horseback, and behind them were Quebec public-sector workers who are out on strike carrying picket signs.

The last time the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup, in 1993, they couldn’t take the “usual route” down Ste-Catherine for their championship parade because of the destruction caused on the street following their victory over the Los Angeles Kings at the Forum. There were 118 arrests, 168 injuries and $8 million in damage along Ste-Catherine. The parade, held two days after the riot on a Friday, was instead a shortened version along Sherbrooke St., starting at La Fontaine Park and going west to Guy St. A victory party that had been planned at the Forum was cancelled.

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This was the first Grey Cup parade for the Alouettes since they went down Ste-Catherine St. in 2010 after beating the Saskatchewan Roughriders 21-18 in the championship game in Edmonton, becoming the first CFL team in 13 years to win back-to-back titles.

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At the end of the 2010 parade, Alouettes receiver and Grey Cup MVP Jamel Richardson addressed fans at the Quartier des spectacles and asked: “Can you say dynasty?”

That dynasty never happened, but the Alouettes will be looking to build one now under new owner Pierre Karl Péladeau, GM Danny Maciocia and head coach Jason Maas.

“We said from Day 1 we are proud to be from Montreal, from Quebec and Québécois,” Maas said when he addressed the massive crowd at Quartier des spectacles after Wednesday’s parade. “My word to you is this team will work their f—ing asses off and grind for No. 9. We love you. I love this team, this organization, and thank you. Merci beaucoup!”

Nobody could have predicted this championship when Péladeau, the billionaire president and CEO of Québecor, purchased the Alouettes in March. At the time, the franchise was struggling just to stay alive financially, never mind winning the Grey Cup.

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“We have to make sure we’re ready to build back, we’re ready to invest, we’re ready to use the proper elements and recipes to make the Alouettes something Montrealers can be proud of,” Péladeau said after purchasing the team.

“Being involved and having the opportunity to own the Alouettes, it’s personal,” he added. “If I can bring something to the Alouettes, I think it’s a good thing. This is why I’m involved. I think I can bring … people together. Sports, more than anything else, brings people together. This is important.”

On Wednesday, the Alouettes brought Montrealers together to celebrate and the turnout was impressive. With many schools closed because of teachers being on strike, there were lots of children at the parade. There were people of all ages and colour, speaking English and French, with plenty of Quebec flags and a couple of Canadian flags mixed in.

It was beautiful, despite the damp weather. And there was no riot.

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Jeremy Frankfurt, a season-ticket holder since 2002, was at Quartier des spectacles wearing an Alouettes tuque and a well-worn Mike Pringle No. 27 sweater he bought in 1997. He was joined by his friend Ryan Clahane, a season-ticket holder since 1999.

“As a season-ticket holder, it’s been a long time,” Frankfurt said. “We haven’t had anything to celebrate in Montreal for a long time, so this means a lot.”

Clahane said he never expected the Alouettes to win the Grey Cup when the season started, but he felt confident the morning of the game with the team looking for its eighth straight victory after starting the season 6-7.

“We all heard what they said before the game about nobody respecting them,” Clahane said. “I just knew they were going to shock everyone.”

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Alouettes safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy made headlines after an emotional post-game interview with RDS in which he criticized the CFL for a lack of respect he felt the team and the province received at the Grey Cup, including a lack of French signage at Tim Hortons Field. On Wednesday, he encouraged fans to cheer so loud that the rest of Canada could hear.

“Montréal, make some noise!” he screamed.

When Péladeau took the stage, he said in French: “We brought back our Cup!”

He then started an “Olé! Olé! Olé!” chant.

“We had a great team,” Péladeau then said in English. “Thanks to all of you, we did it! We did it! We did it!

“Congratulations, guys,” he said to the players. “You deserve it.”

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Quarterback Cody Fajardo took the stage to chants of “MVP! MVP! MVP!” after being named the most valuable player in the Grey Cup.

“The Grey Cup is where it belongs,” he said. “This franchise deserves it, you fans deserve it. These players deserve it. I would not be here without all of you and all of them. It’s been a winding road and nobody believed I’d be up here but you guys, and for that, merci beaucoup! I love you very much.”

This was a day when Montreal showed it still knows how to party — no matter what the route is.

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