'This is a real plan': Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante unveils her party's platform

Montreal -

Mayoral candidate Valérie Plante unveiled her party's platform Wednesday with no less than 250 commitments for the city.

But, while she hasn't dropped the idea for her pink line in this campaign, her promises are not quite as grandiose.

Projet Montreal is proposing what it calls a city for today and tomorrow with its extensive platform.

“This is real, this is not a preview. This is a real plan, coherent with numbers so I'm very proud of this,” she said.

It includes five different themes, including climate change and attracting and retaining residents to live here.

Many of the proposals, however, have already been announced. The most important one, according to Plante, is the 60,000 social and affordable housing units, as well as the commitment that no matter where anyone lives, they have all the services and green spaces they need within a 15-minute walk.

Some of the new pledges include $60 million in annual funding for public consultations and citizen participation. Another is postal voting for all by the next election, something that couldn't be done this time in the pandemic.

Unlike 2017, there is no flashy headline promise like the pink line, but Plante says their plans are ambitious.

“I cannot make a ‘pink’ housing project but it is definitely to me the equivalent of having a pink line,” she said.

Projet Montreal's candidate to lead the executive committee says she is particularly pleased with the party's pledge that property taxes will not rise above the rate of inflation, as well as the commitment to fight systemic racism and the socioeconomic factors driving gun violence

“Investment in community centres and prevention is very important to me and that is what I saw in Projet Montreal and their plan, and that is what we're planning to do,” Dominique Ollivier said.

Denis Coderre unveiled his party's platform last week, with a similar theme — Montreal for all. He took the day off from the campaign trail.

Meanwhile, mayoral candidate Balarama Holness is expected to update his platform following his party merging with Ralliement pour Montreal.