With a municipal election coming this fall, Projet Montreal unveiled their vision for how they will defeat current mayor Denis Coderre on Sunday.
Officials released the party’s official platform during their annual congress
Party leader Valerie Plante said her priorities are making the island a more attractive place for families to live to stem the tide of people leaving for off-island suburbs. To that effect, the party proposes making it mandatory to include family-friendly homes of three rooms or more in every public and private housing development.
“Some of the things I hear a lot when I talk to Montrealers, they’re tired of feeling like they’ve been taken for granted,” she said. “They want us, politicians, to listen to what they have to say.”
There are several proposals to increase the usage of public transport, including making buses and the metro free for anyone under the age of 12 who is accompanied by an adult and building a new metro line that would connect downtown to St-Leonard, St-Michel, Montreal-North and RDP.
Plante said she also wants to focus on improving conditions for Montreal’s commercial streets and small businesses, which are “such an important part of Montreal life.”
Also on the official platform are proposals to improve road safety for cyclists and pedestrians by studying locations where accidents occur.
Coderre came to office with over 32 per cent of the vote in 2013 but his closest competitor, Melanie Joly, has since been elected to federal government, where she serves as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s culture minister. Projet Montreal’s then-leader, Richard Bergeron, has since joined Equipe Denis Coderre.
Plante said she wasn’t sure if she’s an underdog in the coming campaign but that if she is, she welcomes the challenge.
“I have to say, this is a position I’ve been in quite a lot in the past few years. I was elected in 2013 and I was running against Louise Harel and I won the election. The leadership race was the same, people didn’t expect I would win and I did. So you know what? Bring it.”
For his part, Coderre seemed unfazed by Projet Montreal’s vision for the city.
“My response is, have a great day,” he said. “The most important thing for me is the people, it’s not about the adversary. The pride is back and people are fed up of people confronting each other.”