Denis Coderre left politics claiming to bequeath to the municipal scene a party in good financial shape, but the debt of Ensemble Montreal grew by $57,000 last year. His successor, who promises to reimburse the party’s credit card, also retains a bitter taste for Mr. Coderre’s brief return to the arena.
On November 12, when announcing his retirement from the political sphere following his second crushing defeat against Valérie Plante — and “40 years of public life” — Mr. Coderre said he was “very proud” of leave Ensemble Montréal in a good financial position. “I just wanted to make sure that we could have all the assets to have a healthy party. As I tell you, there is no longer any debt, we have worked towards that. There will be one last benefit event that I will contribute and participate in, but honestly, I’m sorry, no bad news, it went well, ”he told reporters.
However, in fact, the party’s debt has not stopped growing since the first departure of Mr. Coderre, in 2017. At the end of 2020, it thus amounted to $ 424,387. An amount that rose from $57,213 last year to $481,600 (taking into account an upcoming refund of just over $501,000 from the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec), indicate the latest financial statements of the party, which The duty was able to consult.
“I did not invent $481,000 [de dette] in four months, ”launches in an interview on Friday the leader of Ensemble Montreal, Aref Salem, who remembers having been “ behind ” Denis Coderre when he said, wrongly, that the debt of the party was settled. Mr. Salem, however, did not have at the time the latest data on the financial state of the party, which he had not yet taken over on an interim basis.
“I am not responsible for what Denis said and what he did. I am responsible for leading this party to victory in 2025,” insists Salem.
Nevertheless, the leader of the official opposition at city hall retains a bitter taste for the electoral campaign led by Denis Coderre, at the end of which Projet Montréal won a comfortable majority on the city council. “It’s a shame to have a futuristic electoral platform like the one we had and not have been able to sell it,” sighs the elected municipal official, who regrets that this campaign revolved “around the personality” of Denis Coderre.
“People were no longer listening to what we had to offer. They just wanted to know what Denis was doing, and it was more sensationalism than a complete program, ”recalls Mr. Salem, who wants the next leader of the party to “undergo the party”, not the other way around. “It is very important for the 2025 elections.”
Joined by The duty, Mr. Coderre was stingy with comments on Friday. “I don’t answer any questions from reporters,” he said politely before hanging up.
A debt despite “record donations”
Paradoxically, the growth of the party’s debt comes at the end of a record year in terms of donations. These amounted to $607,000. “At our level, it was unheard of,” says Ensemble Montreal’s general manager, Sébastien Lachaine.
This sum, significantly higher than that collected in 2020, was however lower than the $800,000 that the political party hoped to obtain in anticipation of the last election campaign. “We were a little ambitious in fundraising,” admits Aref Salem today, who notes that Ensemble Montreal “was on the credit card every time” he had to spend to give visibility to his candidates.
The leader of the opposition, however, assures that the party has been working for several months to straighten out its finances. Three fundraising campaigns have taken place since November, and more than 500 people have donated about $50,900 to the party so far in 2022, more than half of the party’s annual goal, Salem said.
“We have never had the vocation of a political party, we have always been more of a waiting banner. We have been more passive than active. Whereas, now, we are more active than passive,” assures the leader of Ensemble Montreal. The latter thus set himself the objective of completely eliminating the party’s debt within “two and a half years” in order to facilitate the task of whoever will succeed him.
“We are moving towards an election year in 2025 where we will have no debt”, assures Mr. Salem. To achieve this objective, the leader of Ensemble Montréal intends to “mobilize” the members of the party associations in the 19 boroughs in order to lead voters to “believe in the values of the party”, and thus support it financially.
The municipal political parties, including Projet Montréal, had not yet posted their financial statements for 2021 on Friday evening. Joined by The duty, the City has specified that they have until Monday to do so.
With Jeanne Corriveau
“I did not invent 481,000 dollars [de dette] in four months. »