GATINEAU | A woman is brought to the head of Gatineau for the first time in history. The independent candidate France Bélisle becomes mayor and succeeds in her bet to expel from power the party of outgoing mayor Maxime Pedneaud Jobin.
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“There is a lady who said to me: finally we have a mayoress who looks like us, and that for me is the best gift”, declared the new mayoress of the fourth largest city in Quebec.
The former CEO of Tourisme Outaouais arrived shortly before 10 a.m. at his country office located in a shopping center in Gatineau. She was very moved in front of the fifty activists and the crowd of journalists who were waiting for her.
Five candidates presented themselves against her, including the head of Action Gatineau Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, runner-up to the outgoing mayor, who came second. Jean-François LeBlanc, municipal councilor and independent candidate, comes third, followed by Rémi Bergeron, Jacques Lemay and Abdelhak Lekbabi.
The themes of the environment, housing and infrastructure animated the campaign in a demographic booming Gatineau. Residents expect in particular a tram and sports facilities.
Photo Anne-Caroline Desplanques
France Bélisle, new mayor of Gatineau, greets her relatives on the announcement of her victory last night.
But it is above all on governance and taxation that the candidates stood out and that Mr.me Bélisle seems to have hit the mark with the electorate clearly in need of change after eight years under the leadership of Action Gatineau.
The party, often labeled as less popular than its leader, fielded 19 candidates for district councilors. But only half were in the process of being elected at the time of going to press.
The taxes of discord
In terms of taxation, the head of Action Gatineau Mme Marquis Bissonnette provided for an annual tax increase of 2.9%, which would have been in line with the outgoing mayor.
However, this policy had won the “Golden Squeezer” prize for Mayor Pedneaud Jobin in 2020. He then adopted the largest increase in property taxes among the large cities of the province.
In reply, the independent candidate Jean-François Leblanc promised a tax freeze, while Mr.me Bélisle proposed more “budgetary creativity”.
By dipping into surpluses, taking advantage of subsidies and borrowing, it promises to abolish the 1% tax dedicated to infrastructure to cap the property tax increase at 1.9% in 2022, then at 2.4% thereafter. .
Mme Bélisle also wants to team up with the private sector to boost the infrastructure offer. In particular, it wants to invest in culture and create a second convention center to make Gatineau a hub for business tourism, a proposal that fits with the aims of a well-known promoter from the Gilles Desjardins region, from Brigil.