Even before the official campaign kickoff, the race to become Montreal’s next mayor began heating up this summer.
The municipal election campaign doesn’t begin until mid-September, with voting day scheduled two months from now, on Nov. 2.
But mayoral hopefuls were busy making announcements for much of August.
Here’s a quick look at what you may have missed.
After eight years under Valérie Plante, Montreal will elect a new mayor. She announced earlier this year she would not run again.
Luc Rabouin, the borough mayor for Plateau-Mont-Royal, who replaced Plante as leader of Projet Montréal, is running for the top job.
He is up against Soraya Martinez Ferrada, the leader of Ensemble Montréal, a former federal cabinet minister and MP for Hochelaga.
Craig Sauvé, a city councillor in Montreal’s Sud-Ouest borough, is also running with his new party, Transition Montréal.
Other candidates include Jean-François Kacou, with a new party, Futur Montréal, and Gilbert Thibodeau with Action Montréal.
Ahead of the race, Rabouin has distanced himself from some of Plante’s controversial policies.
Rabouin said he would delay the closure of Camilien-Houde Way, the road up Mount Royal, to cars and make sure his revised plan includes a public transit option.
He also said he would scrap the Plante administration’s 20-20-20 housing bylaw, which has failed to get developers to put money toward social housing projects.
As well, Rabouin announced Projet Montréal would reinstate weekly garbage collection during the summer months in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough — after Ferrada had made the same promise.
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The flurry of announcements prompted a columnist in La Presse to suggest the changes were akin to the “Mark Carney method” — a nod to how Carney distanced himself from Justin Trudeau ahead of the election by scrapping his most unpopular policies, notably the carbon tax.
For his part, Rabouin said he will maintain Plante’s commitment to cycling, but wants to prioritize improving the city’s bus service and accelerate construction permits to counter the housing crisis.
On Tuesday, after the Labour Day long weekend, Rabouin said he would introduce reduced fare for low-income public transit users.
More broadly, Rabouin said he would take a pragmatic approach if elected mayor and “listen before making decisions.”
“Without compromising our ambitions for Montreal, my vision is a simpler city that responds directly to the real needs of Montrealers,” he said recently.
Ensemble Montréal’s Ferrada was busy in July and August making a multitude of announcements, big and small.
For instance, she wants to use artificial intelligence to improve traffic flow and construction planning, and conduct an audit of the city’s bike paths and abandon dangerous ones where necessary.
She also said she wants to make it easier for businesses to buy a permit for a terrace, and crack down on crime among youth by putting forward more money.
Ferrada has stressed that she will not close Camillien-Houde Way, which runs up the eastern side of Mount Royal, to vehicular traffic.
“Our administration will listen to Montrealers from day one to the last day of our mandate because that’s who we are,” she said, after Rabouin announced his own revised approach to the mountain.
Ferrada announced last week her slogan would be “Listen and Act” — a nod to criticism against Plante that she failed to consult with residents. In her latest announcement Tuesday, Ferrada again stressed she would do more to improve the flow of traffic during periods of road construction.
Craig Sauvé’s party, Transition Montréal, said it would cut back on police funding — which has climbed under Plante – and respond to homelessness by setting aside more funding for long-term programs and resources.
Sauvé wants to tax “ultra-wealthy owners of single-family units worth more than $3.5 million.”
“This measure will provide stable funding, year after year, to add resources to fight homelessness by getting the money where it is. This measure offers sustainable, not one-time, assistance,” said Sauvé.
He has also committed to reducing public transit fares for low-income residents.
In Montreal (and municipalities across Quebec), the election campaign begins on Sept. 19, with the vote itself on Nov. 2.
Candidates have until Oct. 3 to register. In Montreal’s last election, only 38 per cent of all eligible voters in the city took part — four percentage points less than the number recorded four years ago.
Plante won 52 per cent of the vote in that election.
