Valérie Plante had a flawless campaign, but without much brilliance. This did not prevent the mayoress of Montreal, far in the polls at the start of the campaign, from turning the tide to secure a resounding victory. Without appeal.
Quite an achievement! Valérie Plante was right to say that the election of Projet Montreal, four years ago, was not “a hitch in the road”. Obviously, Montrealers who have had four years to judge his work didn’t hate what they saw.
But her success, Valérie Plante also owes it to her opponent Denis Coderre, who scored in his own goal at the end of the match. His secrecy about his past contracts sank him, just like his lack of transparency surrounding Formula E in previous elections. The more it changes, the more it is the same…
And her success, Valérie Plante owes a little to Balarama Holness, who divided the opposition vote by garnering 7% support, despite a campaign marked by improvisation and division.
So, even if she emerges from this election even stronger, Valérie Plante must still remain humble. And above all, it must stay tuned, because it has a city to reconcile at the end of a particularly polarizing campaign.
Valérie Plante will have to bring together the more central boroughs who voted in her favor with those more distant who have leaned more for Mr. Coderre.
It will also have to rebuild bridges between the two solitudes, while linguistic tensions resurface with the reform of Bill 101 of the Coalition d’avenir Québec (CAQ).
The mayoress of Montreal will also have a lot to do to bridge the gap that is increasingly separating the metropolis, further to the left on the political spectrum, from the rest of the province, further to the right.
Obviously, it is a game that is played for two. We can deplore here that Prime Minister François Legault did not say a word about Montreal in his inaugural speech in October.
But on the city side, it would be wise to appoint a person in charge of the mayor’s office to deal directly with intergovernmental relations. The challenges are major, starting with the REM in the East, propelled by the CAQ, which must not be a concrete monster that disfigures the city.
The mayor will also have to reach out in a much more convincing way to the business community, with whom she has never had hooks. Coming out of the pandemic, it will need businesses to revive the economy and the city center, while tackling major issues, such as the lack of housing.
But first and foremost, Valérie Plante will have to be in tune with certain citizens who often felt they had no say during Projet Montréal’s first term.
The changes to the parking rules in Outremont, the transformation of the marina into a waterfront park in Lachine and the development of the Réseau express Vélo (REV) in rue de Bellechasse are all projects that have aroused discontent in the boroughs.
In this regard, we can hope that the arrival of the former head of the Office de consultation publique de Montréal, Dominique Ollivier, as president of the executive committee of the City of Montreal, will add fuel to the situation. gear.
We are pleased to see that Montreal will be run by two women. We are also delighted with the election of several women as mayor of the major cities of the province, in particular Catherine Fournier, in Longueuil, and France Bélisle, in Gatineau. Many young people have also won the victory, such as Stéphane Boyer, who becomes, at 33, the youngest mayor in the history of Laval… and the new mayor of Chapais, Isabelle Lessard, who is only 21 years old.
Hats off to everyone! This wind of renewal is refreshing.
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