In Quebec, we are not used to drawing broader conclusions from municipal elections. Perhaps because national political parties have not invested in city halls, as in France or the United States. Or maybe because the idea of having all the cities vote at the same time is relatively new.
Still, the municipal results have a little air of warning. In several large cities, we have seen the election of progressive, green candidates for whom an egalitarian administration will be more than a slogan.
These elections will go down in history as those in which women took their place in the municipalities. Of the ten largest cities in Quebec, five are now headed by women. This is more than just a democratic coincidence. And it’s not only in the big cities: Granby, Magog, Drummondville, Brossard, Saguenay, Val-d’Or, Rouyn-Noranda and so many other cities elected women on Sunday.
Also, it is clear that voters have turned to a new generation of municipal leaders who are the opposite of the “mononcle” style that has long prevailed in city halls. Not all, of course, but several.
This usually means more inclusive municipal administrations, which have a different conception of the city and its neighborhoods, of residential and commercial development. Cities which consult more and which are more attentive to citizens. Fortunately, the era of “we were elected to decide and we will meet again in four years” is on the way out.
Obviously, having younger municipal officials and more women does not mean that a different culture will automatically settle in municipal administrations. You shouldn’t be jovial and think that everything will change. But what may not be a very big wave is still a real breakthrough.
Likewise, the definition of women’s and youth leadership in politics is often different from that of their elders. It is especially not to want to decide everything alone and quickly. The one man show have had their day. Consultation is not a sign of weakness and taking the time to debate before deciding is a healthy way to govern.
There has been a lot of talk about ecological transition for some time now, but what the municipalities must do is also a democratic transition. Between a role of local administration to a government of proximity.
The work of elected municipal officials is no longer defined by keeping the tax bill low and picking up snow and garbage properly. Today, they must take care of quality of life, housing, town planning and development. All this while the cities are perpetually underfunded and that it is slow to grant them other sources of income than just the property tax.
This also means that the so-called “superior” governments will have to take note that it will be much more difficult to make accept projects all tied up in advance and imposed from above. We think in particular of the third link and the Eastern REM.
Note that in Quebec on Sunday, more than 70% of voters voted for parties that had serious reservations about the tunnel project between Quebec and Lévis.
This pharaonic tunnel, the cost of which could exceed 10 billion dollars – the estimated cost of renovating all the schools in Quebec that would really need it – is precisely the kind of “turnkey” project imposed from above that There is a strong risk of not being a priority for the new administration of Quebec.
In Montreal, the re-elected mayor now has free rein to ensure that the REM de l’Est project is something other than a concrete scar and that it truly meets the needs of users of this landlocked neighborhood rather than to the promoter’s business plan.
This should force the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec to sit down with the City of Montreal and review the project other than with ultimatums and with a take it or leave it attitude. became its trademark.
Finally, a word on the too low participation rate which could too easily serve as an excuse to conveniently forget the message of these municipal elections. We know from experience that when there are two consecutive elections, it is always the second that suffers.
In Quebec, for example, the participation rate between the 2007 provincial elections and that of 2008 fell from 71% to 57%, the lowest in 70 years. But it must be said that – like this year – they were triggered a few weeks after the federal elections and the day after the election of Barack Obama, which had been very popular in Quebec. The municipal is no exception, alas. When we go last, we have a harder time attracting attention.