After a tumultuous campaign, mayoral candidate Balarama Holness lost his bet to see 10 elected members of Mouvement Montreal as he hoped. None of its candidates won their elections. But despite his visible disappointment, he remains hopeful for the future of his party. “Mouvement Montreal is here to stay. We will be there in 2025. We are here to stay and we are just getting started, ”he told the crowd late Sunday evening.
“The word that comes to mind tonight is ‘victory’,” thundered the leader of Mouvement Montréal. According to him, the candidates of his training showed Montrealers that change was possible. “We have progressive candidates dedicated to social justice. ”
Balarama Holness made a rather discreet entrance to Maison Principal, a reception hall located in the southwest of Montreal. The head of Mouvement Montréal came to greet the sixty people on site.
He was aiming for the election of a dozen candidates on Sunday evening. “Ten candidates would be a victory. We are very confident tonight that Mouvement Montréal could surprise, ”said the candidate, without taking his eyes off his cell phone.
The language question took a lot of place in his campaign, but the issues of housing accessibility remain at the heart of his party’s concerns, recalled the former footballer. “Regardless of the results of this election, I will continue to defend the issues of housing and inclusion. ”
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Balarama Holness and his team
The candidates of Mouvement Montreal were gathered in an atmosphere free from exclamations of joy and applause. But Balarama Holness does not give up hope. “I feel immense pride. Our 68 candidates led a campaign of ideas, and we advanced the public dialogue in a particular way. ”
Will Holness remain in the municipal arena for years to come? “Mouvement Montreal is here to stay. I want to continue to advance social issues. ”
Numerous withdrawals, controversy over the language, broken union with Ralliement pour Montréal, the party of Marc-Antoine Desjardins: the beginnings of Mouvement Montréal in municipal politics were tumultuous.
Balarama Holness does not regret having put forward the holding of a referendum to give bilingual status to the metropolis he wished to lead. He does not believe that this controversial announcement has cost him some support, he reiterated Sunday evening.
The current leader of Mouvement Montreal had tried in the last municipal elections to be elected mayor of Montreal-North with the team of Valérie Plante, Projet Montreal. “I didn’t give up in 2017; I will not give up there, ”he concluded.