Quebec needs people to run for local office. The problem is they keep resigning

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante speaks at a press conference in Montreal on Tuesday, Nov.19, 2024. (Christinne Muschi / The Canadian Press)

Municipal leaders across Quebec are looking for ways to get young people, especially women, to run for local office in next year's elections, but that is a tall order given the well-documented incidents of harassment and intimidation faced by elected officials in the province.

As many as 800 municipal councillors — 10 per cent of the roughly 8,000 people elected to local office in 2021 — have quit before the end of their term, says Quebec's elections agency.

They've left for a wide range of reasons, but some departures were influenced by the toxic behaviour of citizens.

"Harassment has been more and more frequent in the municipal world, whether it's in Quebec or when I speak to colleagues across Canada," Antoine Tardif, mayor of Victoriaville, Que., a town of 45,000 people about 140 kilometres northeast of Montreal, said in a recent interview. "I think social media is a part of the reason why we see more and more."

Quebec launched a months-long campaign to recruit candidates, particularly women and young people, ahead of the municipal elections scheduled for November 2025, says Municipal Affairs Minister Andrée Laforest.

Women compose half the population but are still under-represented in municipal councils across the province.

In the 2021 municipal elections, they accounted for 35.5 per cent of candidates, and five major cities elected a woman as mayor — but at least three of them aren't running next year.

France Bélisle cited a hostile work environment, including death threats from members of the public, in her abrupt decision to step down in February as mayor of Gatineau.

Sherbrooke Mayor Évelyne Beaudin gave similar reasons for excluding another run in November.

"Being an elected official in 2024 is not very popular," Beaudin said in May.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said in October she wouldn't seek a third term.

While she didn't specifically cite online and public harassment as reasons for her departure — she said she didn't think she had the energy for another four years — Plante has limited comments on her social media profiles because of the vulgar responses she routinely receives.

Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier was placed under intermittent police protection and received death threats over a controversial plan to cull local deer; however, she is running again.

The provincial government has tried to assist embattled local politicians.

In February, Quebec announced funding for a new telephone helpline for elected leaders.

Last June, it passed a law that includes fines of up to $1,500 for anyone who intimidates or harasses a politician.

The law also allows elected officials to ask the Superior Court for an injunction against a citizen who threatens, intimidates or harasses them.

Tardif, who sits on the executive of the Federation of Quebec Municipalities, released the results of a survey his group took earlier this year that indicated 74 per cent of elected local officials had been the victims of harassment and intimidation.

Karim Boulos, a former Montreal city councillor between 2005 and 2009, says intimidation on social media wasn't an issue during his mandate. 

"There was more respect — if we can use that word — or more decorum, a few years ago," Boulos said. "I find that people [officials] today are unjustly criticized for work they're just trying to do on behalf of the residents."

Exchanges in Victoriaville have always been respectful, Tardif said, but in recent years, there's an "incomparable level of intolerance" among people.

"I think people are on edge, are quickly in confrontation mode, then add to that social networks where everyone can take justice into their own hands and attack politicians or elected officials," Tardif said. "It can create a cocktail that is difficult to live with for some."

In some smaller towns and villages where people run into each other more easily, some mayors steer clear of social media to avoid personal attacks or harassment, Tardif said. 

"It's a trend that must absolutely be countered as the next municipal election approaches because there are so many great things to achieve in the municipal environment, it is such a rewarding job," Tardif said. "But unfortunately there are events that darken the function of municipal officials."

Fewer than 10 per cent of municipal candidates in the 2021 elections were between the ages of 18 and 34.

One way to attract that age group to run for office, Boulos said, is to make work schedules more flexible, including by allowing municipal leaders to sometimes work from home.

Julie Bourdon, mayor of Granby, Que., 65 kilometres southeast of Montreal, heads the committee on democracy for Quebec's union of municipalities.

She said the goal of her group is to recruit a diverse group of candidates in 2025, adding that it also plans to offer mentoring to politicians.

"There are lots of great things happening in Quebec in municipal politics, there are still lots of people who are passionate, who are doing their part … that could lead other interested people to get involved," Bourdon said.

"Is municipal politics easy? I don't think so, it's still politics: there are issues, there is a homelessness crisis, a housing crisis, a crisis in terms of climate change," Bourdon said. 

Municipal elections across the province are scheduled for Nov. 2, 2025.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 30, 2024.