Defeated, Denis Coderre deplores a “dirty” electoral campaign

Defeated in his attempt to regain mayor of Montreal, Denis Coderre lamented having lived through “the dirtiest electoral campaign” of his career, but did not indicate whether he intended to remain in politics as head of the government. opposition to the town hall.

Isabelle Ducas
Press

“I have no regrets or remorse, and I have the impression of having gone to the end of my ideas,” said Mr. Coderre, speaking at around 10:45 p.m. Sunday evening in front of about forty supporters and supporters. candidates of his party.

Seeming to take this setback with difficulty, Denis Coderre looked low.

Without specifying to what he attributed his electoral setback, he congratulated himself on having led a “campaign of ideas”, and called on all elected officials to “put the aggressiveness aside”.

“I ask all the people of Ensemble Montreal who were elected to play their role in opposition. We must transcend political parties and stop continually pointing fingers, ”he asked, his voice faltering at times, under the influence of emotion.

As he repeated throughout his campaign, Mr. Coderre reiterated that, in his opinion, Montreal was dirty, unsafe and in need of love.

After hugging several of his candidates, Denis Coderre left the room without answering questions from journalists trying to find out if he would remain at the head of his party, Ensemble Montreal, as leader of the opposition.

During a debate on Radio-Canada a few days ago, Mr. Coderre suggested that he “would like” to remain as leader of the opposition in the event of defeat at the mayor of Montreal.

His running mate Chantal Rossi was re-elected in Montreal-North. This councilor could therefore cede her seat on the municipal council to him, if Mr. Coderre so wishes.

” Disappointment “

This is his second loss against Valérie Plante. The scenario of 2017 was repeated: while Denis Coderre was considered the favorite when he announced his return to the race, last March, his support gradually eroded during the campaign.

The evening was gloomy for the supporters of Ensemble Montreal, who were also few in number at the downtown Plaza Hotel, where the party’s rally was held.

Many party leaders were also absent during their leader’s speech.

Several of the party’s star candidates were also defeated: Guillaume Lavoie in Villeray – Saint-Michel – Parc-Extension, Heidi Hollinger in the South West, Karine Boivin-Roy in Mercier – Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Antoine Richard, Nadine Gelly and Jean Airoldi in Verdun.

Denis Coderre was long overdue, so much so that he spoke after the re-elected mayor, Valérie Plante. Normally, on election night, tradition dictates that the loser delivers his speech before the winner.

Nadine Gelly, who was to be number two in a possible Coderre administration, had tears in her eyes after listening to her leader. “What I’m feeling right now is disappointment, because during this campaign, I discovered an exceptional team and people,” she said, moved.

Outgoing councilor Francisco Miele, who was not re-representing, was acting as Denis Coderre’s campaign manager. He said he respected the choice of Montrealers, but also denounced the fact that the opposing party has, according to him, “looked for bugs in the candidates’ closets”. While Ensemble Montreal carried out a “positive” campaign, he argued.

Denis Coderre will therefore have lost his bet to “Find Montreal”, as he said he wanted in his book, published last spring.

Denis Coderre’s flagship commitments

Hire at least 250 police officers additional measures to tackle the safety problems on the streets of Montreal. Ensemble Montréal believes that this issue is currently the priority and intends to tackle it vigorously. Denis Coderre specified that these new troops would be distributed equitably throughout the island.

Relax the regulations imposed on developers real estate in order to “boost the supply” of new housing: Ensemble Montréal hopes to promote the construction of 50,000 new housing units in four years. The party proposes to revert to the old rules – which state that each housing project must include 15% social housing and 15% affordable housing, unless the developer pays compensation.

Limit the increase in property taxes residential at the rate of inflation or 2%, whichever is lower. Ensemble Montréal wants to broaden the City of Montreal’s tax base by imposing a tax on insalubrity and a tax on commercial parking lots that do not meet certain ecological criteria.

Quickly equip all Montreal police officers with handheld cameras. Denis Coderre has promised to launch the call for tenders to acquire the necessary equipment in the first 100 days of his mandate. In his opinion, the presence of a camera will reassure both officers and citizens in their interactions.

Organize a summit on trucking with the objective of reduce the presence of heavy goods vehicles in the heart of Montreal during the day and make them safer. Mr. Coderre notably mentioned the idea of ​​limiting deliveries to certain time slots in order to relieve the arteries the rest of the day. In addition, he would like trucks to be fitted with 360-degree cameras to reduce the risk of accidents.

Biography of Denis Coderre

Denis Coderre in a few dates

1963

Denis Coderre was born in Joliette. Ten years later, he and his family moved to Montreal. He is doing a bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of Montreal and a master’s degree in business administration at the University of Ottawa.

1997

After many attempts, Denis Coderre was elected Liberal MP in the federal riding of Bourassa, in Montreal. During his 16 years in this position, he was appointed Secretary of State for Sport, President of the Privy Council and Minister of Immigration.

2002

Doubts are raised as to the integrity of Denis Coderre, since he was accommodated free of charge in 1997 in the condo of advertiser Claude Boulay, president of Groupe Everest. Affirming that Mr. Boulay is a long-time friend, the MP denies any link between this stay and the fact that Groupe Everest obtained a greater number of sponsorship and advertising contracts during the year following his arrival at the Cabinet. . Two years later, Mr. Coderre testified before the Gomery commission on the sponsorship scandal, from which he emerged without blame. However, he was ousted from the Council of Ministers following these revelations.

May 23, 2013

Denis Coderre, who is still a federal Liberal MP, launches into municipal politics with the official creation of the Équipe Denis Coderre formation for Montreal.

November 3, 2013

He was elected mayor of Montreal with just over 31% of the vote, while his opponents, Mélanie Joly and Richard Bergeron, obtained 26.5% and 26% of the vote respectively.

November 5, 2017

In his speech in which he recognizes the victory of Valérie Plante, Mr. Coderre announces that he is leaving municipal politics.

March 28, 2021

Denis Coderre announces his return to politics for the municipal elections of November 2021, on the show Everybody talks about it. He is running for mayor with his former party, renamed Ensemble Montréal following his defeat in 2017.

With Florence Morin-Martel, Press