who will become montreal's next mayor? here are some possible candidates
michel leblanc, luc rabouin, dominique anglade, younes el moustir, vincent marissal and even denis coderre are some of the names being bandied about.
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mayor valérie plante’s announcement that she will not run again has cast open the door to an array of candidates rumoured or confirmed to be interested in becoming the next leader of montreal. from business heads to real estate developers to former mayors, here are some of the possible hopefuls.
michel leblanc
the president of the chamber of commerce of metropolitan montreal for the last 15 years has been more vocal of late about the business community’s growing dissatisfaction with the state of the city. during a luncheon speech last summer featuring plante as the keynote speaker, leblanc enumerated concerns over cleanliness, snarled traffic caused by ubiquitous construction sites, increasing homelessness and the housing crisis.
at the time, leblanc remained vague about whether he intended to run for mayor, a position he has been rumoured to be mulling for a number of years. a graduate of the université de montréal with a master of science in economics, leblanc served as associate of the secor strategic management consulting firm and vice-president of public affairs for genome quebec before becoming ceo of the chamber of commerce in 2009.
luc rabouin
montreal executive committee chair luc rabouin releases the municipal financial report for 2023 at city hall on friday, june 14, 2024. he has been given an increasingly visible political role in recent months.
john mahoney
/
montreal gazette
the mayor of plateau-mont-royal since 2019 and chair of the city’s executive committee, the administration’s top decision-making body, rabouin has been given an increasingly visible political role by projet montréal leader plante in recent months. he took the lead during the debacle surrounding the closure of four peel st. terrasses on grand prix weekend last summer, and this month was presenting previews of the city’s coming budget and tax hike plans.
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before being named chair of the executive committee when dominique ollivier was forced to step down over an expenses scandal from her prior position as head of the city’s public consultation office, rabouin held the high-profile position of executive committee member responsible for commercial and economic development. before entering politics, he was director of strategic development at the caisse d’économie solidaire desjardins, director of the community economic development corporation for the centre-sud/plateau-mont-royal district and director of communauto france in paris.
younes el moustir
ensemble montréal leadership hopeful younes el moustir.
photo courtesy of younes el moustir
the 32-year-old real estate agent is vying for the leadership of ensemble montréal, the party serving as the main opposition at city hall. he is the first person to apply to run. he was motivated to run when the office where he was working on ste-catherine st. e. in the village was affected by repeated issues, including unhoused people who were causing disturbances, and was dismayed by the lack of action on the part of the plante administration.
born in morocco, he says he would bring much-needed diversity to the mayoralty, reflecting the city’s increasingly diverse populace. the new ensemble montréal leader will be announced in february.
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dominique anglade
former quebec liberal leader dominique anglade started a new job as associate professor at the hec montréal business school. she is pictured outside the school on wednesday, aug. 30, 2023. her name has been bandied about as a possible successor to valérie plante.
pierre obendrauf
/
montreal gazette
the name of the former leader of the quebec liberal party has been bandied about as a possible successor to plante. the montreal native of haitian background became the first woman and first person of colour to be named leader in the party’s 150-year history in 2020. but the quebec liberals suffered the worst loss in their history in the 2022 election, winning only 21 seats and 14 per cent of the vote. anglade stepped down soon afterward.
in an interview with the gazette in 2023 when she took a teaching position at the hec montréal business school, anglade said she was relaxed and rested after an arduous campaign run, enjoying being back with her family and not missing the political game at all. but she has also been known to say she never shies away from a challenge.
vincent marissal
québec solidaire mna vincent marissal speaks to media about the situation in the emergency department at maisonneuve-rosemont hospital in east-end montreal on tuesday, jan. 17, 2023.
john mahoney
/
montreal gazette
the name of the former la presse journalist and columnist who was first elected as the mna for rosemont in 2018 with québec solidaire came up quickly when plante’s decision was announced. marissal said he was flattered by the consideration, but it was too soon to make a decision on the matter. he did not close the door to the idea, saying “i would need to have a discussion with myself.”
he did add, however, that he is very happy with his current job in quebec city. the next provincial elections are slated for oct. 2026, one year after montreal’s municipal elections are scheduled.
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marissal worked as a journalist in montreal for 18 years before jumping to politics in 2018, edging out parti québécois leader jean-francois lisée in the former pq stronghold of rosemont. he was re-elected by a wide margin in 2022 and became the opposition critic for health, ethics, the metropolis and sports.
denis coderre
former mp and montreal mayor denis coderre speaks at a news conference friday, june 21, 2024 in quebec city. coderre announced his decision to run for the quebec liberal party’s leadership.
jacques boissinot
/
the canadian press
no recent mayoral race would be complete without including the possible involvement of montreal’s former mayor. the liberal member of parliament for montreal’s bourassa riding for 16 years, coderre was elected mayor in 2013, but then suffered a narrow upset loss to plante and projet montréal in 2017, becoming the first incumbent montreal mayor to lose a bid for re-election in 57 years. his rallying cry to “put montreal on the map again” appeared to be overshadowed by anger over perceived overspending on the city’s 375th anniversary celebrations and a formula e race for which he initially refused to release ticket sales results.
he announced he was resigning from politics, then chose to run for mayor again in 2021 when early polls showed him with a lead over plante. she won, with 52 per cent of the vote to coderre’s 38 per cent.
in june he officially announced he would run in the quebec liberal party’s leadership race in january 2025.
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on his facebook page wednesday, coderre posted that he would not be commenting on plante’s decision, saying it was hers to make. he did not mention if he was thinking of running for mayor.
montreal’s municipal election is on nov. 2, 2025.
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