'Montreal deserves better': Former mayor Denis Coderre will run for office in November

MONTREAL -- Former mayor Denis Coderre will run once again for municipal office in the upcoming November election in a rematch against incumbent Valerie Plante.

Rumours surrounding the prospective campaign have been circulating for weeks after a La Presse obtained a copy of the former mayor’s then-unpublished book Retrouver Montreal.

Coderre put those rumours to rest on Sunday, when he made the announcement on Radio-Canada's Tout le monde en parle.

"Yes, I will be a candidate for mayor," he said. "I want us to retrouve Montreal too ... we can have a Montreal for all Montrealers."

He's expected to rejoin his former party, now known as Ensemble Montreal.

In the book, Coderre outlined his upcoming campaign, which includes plans to expand public transit in line with the REM, as well as promises to expand the orange and yellow metro lines.

With big promises to expand public transit, he also took a dig at Plante for what he called "rigid and dogmatic" pedestrianization plans, which garnered significant pushback from borough councils over the summer. 

He also wants the city to take greater action to address he called "real and disturbing problems of racial profiling."

The book was released on March 24, preceded by a promotional interview with Coderre where he criticized current Mayor Valerie Plante directly. 

"We feel that we have lost some magic," he said. "We feel that Montreal is not for all Montrealers."

Following the leak in La Presse earlier in March, Plante told CTV News she was ready to face the former mayor in a debate, but that she would refrain from addressing his criticisms until then. 

"I don't have a message for him," she said. "I don't speak to him directly, I'm talking to Montrealers."

"I've been [in office] for four years, dealing with the pandemic. I've been there to support all Montrealers, especially those in need."

On ne peut pas dire qu’on ne s’y attendait pas! Blague à part, je souhaite la bienvenue à @DenisCoderre dans la course. Je suis impatiente de pouvoir débattre avec vous, de notre vision pour Montréal. #polmtl

— Valérie Plante (@Val_Plante) March 29, 2021

EARLY POLL FAVOURS CODERRE

According to an early Mainstreet Research poll, Coderre would win if the election were held tomorrow. 

In a choice between Coderre, Plante, and some other candidate, 40 per cent of respondents said they would vote for Coderre, leaving just 24 per cent in support of Plante, and 11 per cent voting for someone else.

That leaves 11 per cent undecided, half of which opted for Coderre when pushed to choose.

Coderre was most popular among young people, with 61 per cent of respondents aged 18-34 supporting him, as opposed to just 17 for Plante.