CDN-NDG borough mayor to enter run for Projet Montréal leadership

Gracia Kasoki Katahwa, the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (CDN-NDG) borough mayor, officially threw her name in the hat for the Montreal leadership.

She announced in a Facebook post Saturday that she is hoping to succeed Valérie Plante as head of Projet Montréal.

“We deserve a city that takes care of its people, and I know that our movement is capable of creating that city. It's already doing so,” she wrote.

Katahwa was a nurse for 10 years before entering politics in 2021 and served as an administrator for the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec. She said she is motivated by a dedication to caring for people and social justice — and sees municipal politics as the right place to do it.

“I've seen how the failings of the healthcare system have a serious impact on people's lives. At that moment, something inside me felt the need to act, to do more,” she wrote.

“You've seen it as I have, the decisions made by the city directly affect people's lives. When we do it right, it changes their quality of life and gives them back their dignity.”

Plante announced in October that she would not seek re-election. Her successor will be chosen in March.

Katahwa will be running against Plateau-Mont-Royal borough mayor and executive committee chair Luc Rabouin and former Projet Montréal president Guedwig Bernier. A few others were mulling the possibility.