In her first time taking the big stage in front of Montreal’s business community, Mayor Valerie Plante talked about her father Gaetan – a travelling salesman who taught her about hard work and business
At Thursday’s meeting, Plante, the mayor of one of Canada’s biggest business hubs, said she’s putting those lessons into practice.
“I hear you, I hear all the people are concerned about the economic health of Montreal, and I’m on board,” she said.
Montreal has been doing well economically for some time. But when Plante was elected last fall, there were concerns her administration would put the brakes on growth.
“That was the main question after the election: will we be able to keep the momentum?” said Michel Leblanc from Montreal’s Chamber of Commerce. “And at this stage, six months after the election, confidence is very high, investment is very high, and unemployment is very low.”
Thanks to a new agreement with the province, there’s more money to work with and more autonomy over how it’s spent.
Plante announced $360 million will be invested over the next five years to accelerate economic growth.
Opposition leader Lionel Perez criticized the plan for being short on detail, saying it didn’t offer any hope to business owners who are struggling to survive as construction sites take over the downtown core.
Plant said there may be some relief coming in June.
“We’re looking at past businesses – the ones that have been dealing with construction sites. Though with the Bishop [street] thing, the thing is that it’s complicated. It’s not a Montreal thing,” Plante said. “It was not by the city of Montreal, but the STM.”
“At the same time, we want to consider businesses struggling, dealing with the loss of business money,” the mayor added.
Plante said there will be an announcement next week on plans to make Sainte-Catherine Street a shopping destination.
