The former mayor of Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie, André Lavallée, died Sunday morning. He leaves behind an important legacy, having worked in several environments and on various issues. Focus on a career that will have marked many Montrealers and Quebecers.
Posted at 8:31 a.m.
André Lavallée first comes from a community background. He made his debut in municipal politics at the end of the 1980s, joining the Montreal Citizens’ Rally (RCM) in 1986. He was thus a councilor in the district of Rosemont under the administration of Mayor Jean Doré, between 1986 and 1998.
At the turn of the 1990s, he was appointed for the first time to the executive committee of the Doré administration. With others, he notably contributed to setting up Montreal’s very first urban plan, as well as several other public policies of the City.
When the RCM was defeated by Pierre Bourque and Vision Montréal in 1994, Mr. Lavallée subsequently became Leader of the Official Opposition at City Hall. He will act in this position for more than three years, before serving as an independent advisor for approximately one year. Towards the end of the 1990s, André Lavallée made the leap into the provincial political arena by becoming chief of staff in the Quebec government, under the PQ mandates of Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry.
He finally returned to his first love in 2005, being elected again as an elected municipal official in Montreal, but this time as mayor of Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie, with the Union des citoyen de l’île de Montréal (UCIM). , which at the time was headed by Gérald Tremblay. The latter will appoint him soon after as head of development and public transport on the executive committee. André Lavallée then developed the agglomeration’s first transportation plan which, even today, serves as a reference for municipal administrations.
Important fact: it was André Lavallée who officially launched the BIXI self-service bicycle network in 2007. Two years later, he was appointed vice-chairman of the executive committee of the City of Montreal, but also that of the Metropolitan Community of Montreal (CMM).
After his defeat in the 2009 elections, where he again ran for mayor of Rosemont, he remained in the municipal arena until 2012, as director of the cabinet of the mayor of Ville-Marie. He ended his political career with the Government of Quebec between 2015 and 2015, where he successively held the positions of Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Minister for the metropolitan region, in particular.
“It is with great sadness that I announce that my lover André died this morning”, announced Chantale Bertrand, the wife of André Lavallée, on the Facebook page of the former politician in the evening on Sunday. “André was a loving husband, caring father and grandfather. He leaves a significant legacy in his Montreal community, and more particularly the east end of Montreal and his beloved Rosemont district, both through his militant involvement and his public functions that he held. »
Mr. Lavallée died of cancer, surrounded by his loved ones at the St-Raphaël palliative care home in Montreal.
“It is with sadness that I learned of the death of André Lavallée, a great Montrealer who gave so much to our city,” also wrote on Twitter the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante. “We will continue his work to build a Montreal that resembles us. »
With Lila Dussault