The fifth largest city in Quebec has had one of the youngest mayors in recent history elected. Catherine Fournier, 29, won the town hall of Longueuil, far ahead of her three opponents. It promises an era of “collaboration” after four years of partisan tension at City Hall.
The new mayoress, who had been a member of Marie-Victorin for five years, took advantage of her notoriety to get ahead of her opponents. At the time of writing, at 8:35 p.m., a hundred supporters were waiting for the mayoress in a room in Longueuil.
Catherine Fournier is committed to working with all elected officials at Longueuil city hall, regardless of their political affiliation. The outgoing mayor, Sylvie Parent, encountered throughout her mandate an opposition which was in the majority on the municipal council. Ms. Parent retired, especially after receiving death threats from citizens after proposing the culling of white-tailed deer to protect the ecosystem of Michel-Chartrand Park.
The new mayor has made a commitment to have a Green Charter adopted to protect the environmental rights of citizens, as well as a plan for the conservation of natural environments. In particular, it intends to comply with the recommendations of the Ministry of Wildlife to protect the Chorus Frog, whose habitat is threatened by the extension of Boulevard Béliveau.
Improving safety on residential streets is also one of the new mayor’s priorities. She promised measures to slow down traffic and install flashing pedestrian lights.
Catherine Fournier is also committed to improving mobility in this growing suburb. It proposes to extend the bicycle network, improve the bus service on the east-west axis and develop express bus lines offered 24 hours. It is also keen to promote a “structuring” public transport link between the Longueuil-Université de Sherbrooke metro station and the Cégep Édouard-Montpetit.
At the time of this writing, the turnout had not been disclosed, but Catherine Fournier’s team estimated that 25% of voters had voted by 5 p.m. Sunday. The participation rate was 33% in 2017 and 34% four years earlier.