Laval residents have chosen to keep the same political formation at the head of the city on Sunday evening. The candidate Stéphane Boyer won the town hall of Laval, a victory declared before 9 p.m. He had then obtained 46% of the volume of lanes stripped.
Dauphin of outgoing mayor Marc Demers, who did not stand for re-election after two terms, Mr. Boyer took the reins of the Mouvement lavallois party, after having served as a councilor since 2013. The 33-year-old man was betting on a campaign ” positive ”:“ Laval is going in the right direction, ”he insisted throughout this campaign.
Presented as a candidate for continuity, Mr. Boyer began his involvement in municipal politics in 2013 alongside Mayor Marc Demers. Quebec was still in the midst of the Charbonneau Commission and Laval was trying to dispel the bitter taste left by Gilles Vaillancourt’s 23-year reign. The former mayor was found guilty of conspiracy, fraud and breach of trust.
A campaign in the shadow of the metropolis, in deficit of media coverage and yet: the third city of Quebec in number of inhabitants saw the candidates at the top of the list bring ambitious promises in the environment. Stéphane Boyer promised in particular to invest $ 100 million in the acquisition and protection of natural environments. He also praised the city’s progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The mayor of Laval is among the best paid in Quebec. Mr. Boyer had pledged to reduce his salary by $ 30,000 in the event of his victory.
During the campaign, he also joined forces with Longueuil mayoral candidate Catherine Fournier to demand measures to combat the housing crisis.
Disinterest of citizens?
A CROP poll conducted for Radio-Canada in October showed that 56% of Laval residents polled were still undecided. The participation rate in 2017 of 36% was below the provincial average, while it was 42% in Montreal and 50% for Quebec as a whole. The advance polling rate was also on the rise in Laval.
The satisfaction rate of outgoing mayor Marc Demers was relatively high at 60%; he had won a clear victory of 46% in 2017.
A few weeks before the vote, the future mayor was closely followed by two other candidates, Michel Trottier, from the Laval Party and Sophie Trottier, from Action Laval. Mr. Trottier was particularly committed to creating a large parks department in the city – nonexistent until today – to create a Green Fund and to further protect wetlands.
The other candidates in the race are Michel Poissant, from Laval citizens, Nicolas Lemire, independent, Pierre Anthian, from My city now, as well as Hélène Goupil and Redouane Yahmi, both independent.