Montrealers are called to the polls on Sunday to choose their mayor following a campaign in which the outgoing mayor and her predecessor clashed.
Mayor Valérie Plante is seeking a second term and is running against Denis Coderre, whom she defeated in 2017 after he served as mayor for one term.
Mme Plante, whose first term was shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, says he has improved the quality of life of Montrealers and promises to focus on the fight against climate change and the construction of more social housing.
Mr. Codere, a former Liberal minister in Ottawa, says the city has become dirtier and more dangerous since he left office, and he promises to improve Montreal’s image internationally.
It’s not just Montrealers who vote today: Quebeckers across the province choose their mayors and municipal councilors. The results are expected by the end of the night.
In Quebec, voters choose a replacement for Régis Labeaume, who resigned after more than a decade in municipal politics.
Polling stations are open across the province from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
In Montreal, the last days of the campaign turned sour, with the two main candidates accusing each other of lacking integrity. Denis Coderre accused Valérie Plante of not caring about victims of sexual assault and the latter accused her rival of having hidden his business relations.
CBC reported last week that Mme Plante had been made aware of allegations of sexual assault against one of her party’s city councilors as early as 2012. This seemed to contradict Ms.me Plante last year that she was unaware of any allegations of sexual assault or sexual harassment against members of her party.
Craig Sauvé, who has denied the allegations and has not been charged, announced Thursday that he was quitting Mme Plante to sit as an independent if he was re-elected.
Mr Coderre, after initially refusing to make his tax returns public, released the names of his private clients since 2017, which included Cogir, a major real estate company, and the International Automobile Federation, a pressure group in favor of cars and governing body of motorsport events – including Formula E, of which Mr. Coderre promoted the last Montreal edition while he was mayor.
Mme Plante said Mr. Coderre’s reluctance to release his financial information reveals that his definition of transparency is “elastic.”