Montreal opposition party Projet Montreal is looking for a new leader.
The party launched its leadership race Monday to determine who will face off against Mayor Denis Coderre in the next election in November 2017.
The party has not had a leader since Richard Bergeron left in October 2014, though Plateau Mont-Royal Borough Mayor Luc Ferrandez has served as interim leader in the meantime.
Ferrandez confirmed in a news conference Monday that he will not be running for leader of the party.
“Mr. Coderre is a very hard worker, he’s doing his job every day,” he said. “That’s a job I’m not ready to do. He is doing it. You want to be elected not only on ideas, it’s on meeting people, it’s on being there, it’s on being popular. I don’t wish to be popular.”
Ferrandez added that at the time he stepped in as leader, the party needed to present strong opposition at city hall, and he feels he succeeded.
“I think we did the job. We delivered. At the time, Mr. Coderre was untouchable,” said Ferrandez, adding that he believes Coderre "decides without consulting," referring to Coderre's decision making on matters including the pit bull bylaw and the water sewage dump as brash and improvised.
“Many, many times, we see Mr. Coderre step in front of the microphones and proposing something and he was wrong and we were right. And we did this for two years, and I’m pretty proud of what we did.”
So far, only Rosemont councillor Francois Limoges has announced he will run.
When asking how Projet Montreal will fare against a popular mayor, Ferrandez said they will continue to battle some of the measures Coderre has put in place and proposed since his election.
“How long will he last? When this trend will tip down, Projet Montreal will be there,” he said.
Projet Montreal garnered 25 per cent of the vote in the 2013 election, with Equippe Coderre winning 32 per cent.
Bergeron came in third in mayoral voting, behind Coderre and runner-up Melanie Joly.
During Bergeron's decades-long tenure, public transit was the party's main focus, which Ferrandez admits may not have resonated with voters.
"We thought that talking about highly technical projects about public transit works would do the job. For sure that doesn't work," he said, adding that time time, councillors will run grassroots campaigns.
"We're going to have people in every borough, well known in every borough. We're willing to put up a fight with Denis Coderre and put our ideas forward and see what the population says," he said.
Candidates will have until Oct. 15 to submit their applications for the leadership of Projet Montreal, and the campaign will officially begin on Oct. 30. The election will be held on Dec. 4.
Leadership debates will take place in late October.
Anyone who is a member of the Projet Montreal party may vote in the leadership election. The new membership deadline is Nov. 4, and lapsed members must renew by Nov. 19.
Click here for more details.
