Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne | Varied challenges, reflecting its identity

Sunday afternoon, spring seemed to want to show up near the Lachine Canal. There were hundreds of them walking, jogging, chatting with friends, zigzagging between the puddles.

Sitting on one of the only benches that emerged from the still thick snow bank, Alexandre Gilbert and his wife, Milne Iwanowsky, were enjoying the sun.

After voting for the Parti Québécois in the last election, this resident of Pointe-Saint-Charles, where the couple moved after a long stay in the United States, now leans for the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ). “I often vote for my beliefs. I may not agree with everything they say […]but I will vote for this person because he is against law 96 [sur la réforme de la Charte de la langue française] “, she explains.

This issue often comes up in conversations. Although the majority of residents of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne speak French most often at home (59%), close to a third of them prefer English (32%), a much higher proportion than in the rest of the province.

Strong disparities

“Poverty, gentrification, homelessness,” enumerated, a few streets away, Gino, when asked to name the main challenges facing Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne.

The riding presents significant disparities between the luxury condos along the Lachine Canal and Griffintown and the HLMs of Saint-Henri or Ville-Émard.

According to data from the last census, Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne had more households that earned less than the average after-tax income ($40,100) than the rest of Quebec. Above this threshold, the only income bracket where Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne does better than the Quebec average: the richest, that of $200,000 or more.

“The traditional inhabitants in the neighborhood, I think we want to pack them down and I don’t agree with that. I believe that in Montreal neighborhoods, every citizen, regardless of their socioeconomic class, should have their place,” denounced Gino, resident of a non-profit housing organization met in front of the Greenspot, a restaurant hotspot on Notre-Dame Street. .

Housing on everyone’s lips

A few blocks further, we met Laurence Croteau, who shares a condo loaned by acquaintances with her son and her husband.

As for many other residents of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne, the issue of housing therefore takes on all its importance for her. “We are going to have to ‘tougher’ it in the meantime, because we are waiting to find the rare pearl. We made a lot of requests for housing co-ops,” she said.

Resident of Saint-Henri, Olivier Rosa does not hide it: he prefers to elect a local candidate. This is the case of Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, representative of Québec solidaire, for whom he revealed that he had voted.

The issue of housing also worries him, while he was walking with his two youngest children. “It’s my oldest that worries me. They are looking at housing right now thinking they won’t be able to stay in the neighborhood,” he said.

It should be noted that Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne is the riding with the most HLMs on its territory, namely 62.

A rise in racism?

Former member of Quebec solidaire (QS), Ariane Collin is worried about the rise of racism in Quebec, and particularly in Montreal. “I am the daughter of a refugee, I go out with an immigrant. We feel it when we go to the hospital, when we go to the store. Law 96 did not help, we see it when we make comments on the networks, ”she summarized, near the Atwater market.

“The issue of racism, that Montreal is becoming more racist, is something that people feel. It’s something I’ve heard three or four times already. It is sure that it is shocking, especially for me who am a proud Montrealer, but it is clear that there is a shift, ”confirmed at his side his friend François Dansereau-Laberge.

With 31.3% of residents who identify as members of a visible minority, their proportion in Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne is nearly double the Quebec average (16.1%).

It remains to be seen which of these issues will weigh the heaviest on election day.