Montreal’s Valérie Plante looks back on her time as mayor — and what remains to be done

As her tenure nears its end, Valérie Plante says she’s proud of what she’s been able to accomplish. 

Montreal’s first woman mayor says she leaves behind a city in better shape, particularly when it comes to her priorities such as the environment, housing and mobility. 

On Monday, Plante will present a 103-page document at city hall outlining what she views as her administration’s achievements during her time in office.

“After eight years, I do feel I was able to accomplish a lot,” Plante said. 

But in a wide-ranging interview with CBC Montreal’s Debra Arbec, Plante reflected on the limits of power at the municipal level and acknowledged that much remains to be done when it comes to challenges like homelessness and affordability.

She also took a strong stance against anti-women prejudice, telling Arbec that misogyny online should be considered a criminal act.

Montrealers will choose her successor in the municipal election campaign set for Nov. 2.

Here are some highlights from the interview. 

Making housing more affordable was one of Plante’s priorities, but her bylaw designed to get developers to build off-market housing was not as successful as hoped.

Her successor at Projet Montréal, Luc Rabouin, said he would develop a new approach to making sure more affordable housing gets built.

“Is it a solved issue? The answer is no. And … I’ll be very honest with this, I wish it would be more units,” said Plante.

She said housing is an area where all levels of government must work together. She described the problem as “not solved, but definitely moving forward. And I feel like we’ve done a lot to equip the city better to face that crisis.”

On homelessness in the city, Plante said the pandemic made the problem much worse. She said it is “very discouraging that we continue to have this problem and it’s not going away.

“The shelters created by the [Quebec] government — because it’s their responsibility — filled the needs. But after the COVID, we could see how it really increased,” she said.

“Again, it’s not solved and I hear it, but it’s bigger than Montreal, and that’s why … we all need to work together with the other levels of governments as well.”

The expansion of the city’s network of bike paths and traffic calming measures have made getting around Montreal neighbourhoods safer, Plante said.

“Of course, I’m proud because for me it’s just a very simple question about deserving to be safe in the city while going from point A to point B,” she said.

Plante acknowledged bike paths have been a subject of controversy but said that, “for me it was about saving lives and changing how people move.

“In a few years, people will look back and say this was the moment the city finally started to change,” she said.

In her view, traffic will continue to get worse in Montreal going forward — not because of bike paths but because of the growing number of cars on the road.

As a result, public transit must continue to be expanded, she said. Plante pointed to the expansion of the Blue line as a successful collaboration with other levels of government.

When it comes to the Pink line, a promise from her first campaign, Plante said the pandemic and financial constraints made the project unworkable.

“I don’t have the power over public funding for public transit, right? It’s more the federal and provincial governments, but I do have the power to work on our streets and how we share public space,” she said.

Plante sees her environmental commitments and policies as the core of her legacy. She cited in particular encouraging active transit, more sponge parks to help deal with heavy rainfall and tree planting to help keep the city cool as measures she was able to accomplish.

When it comes to addressing climate change, though, Plante said municipalities are limited in what they can do.

“Some of the more consistent or deeper measures need to come from other levels of government,” she said.

Plante said her time as mayor was challenging, particularly when she faced personal attacks (she closed comments on her accounts on X and Instagram).

Plante said she believes misogyny online should be criminalized, similar to hate speech.

“I do feel like we should also be taking a standpoint about, what do we accept, as a society.”

While stressing she doesn’t see herself as a “perfect” role model, Plante said she is hoping her time as mayor will inspire young people, particularly girls, so that they can “imagine themselves being the mayor.” 

“I hope that I was able to show that a woman can be herself: laugh, smile, be wise … having a sense of duty, doing her job, while being herself,” she said. 

As for next steps, Plante said she plans to take a break and, eventually, return to public life.

“People will see me again. But there’s different ways to change the world,” she said. 

“I will continue to change our city and our society, but I just need to find the right [vehicle].”

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