Longueuil Mayor Fournier intends to seek re-election in 2025

Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier has announced she will seek a new mandate in next year’s municipal election, putting an end to a slew of rumours about her political future.

Fournier, who made the announcement at a press conference Thursday, admitted she had considered leaving after having to deal with the difficult aftermath of flooding caused by Hurricane Debby in August.

She described a political career as thankless at times, and characterized the flow of criticism as harsh, but pointed out that residents of Longueuil also express much support for her work.

“I want to reassure people because I often get told: ‘no chance I’ll get into politics, it’s too toxic, I’m afraid of receiving a lot of negative messages on social media.’ I won’t hide the fact that it’s still a reality, but it’s a reality that is so minimal compared to the support we can receive, the encouragement,” the Longueuil mayor said.

Fournier also said a series of high-profile upcoming resignations — among them Quebec Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy and Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante — sends a discouraging message about the job of an elected official, but that it is much more rewarding than many believe.

“There has been a significant wave of resignations by mayors across Quebec,” she said. “There have also been people who have announced that they will not run again, and I understand them.”

Thursday’s announcement closed the doors on rumours that she was eyeing a run for mayor of Montreal — after Plante revealed she was not seeking a third term — or a move to federal or provincial politics. Fournier admitted she knew that calling a press conference under the pretext of an announcement about her political future risked being misinterpreted as a possible departure.

“I’ve been questioned about this many times in recent weeks. So for me, it’s also an opportunity to clarify my intentions in relation to any rumor that may be circulating. I’m in Longueuil to stay.

“I have to face the fact that, as mayor, I have actually managed to do more, to propose more legislative changes that have been adopted than as an Opposition MNA.”

The 32-year-old Fournier, who was elected to Longueuil’s top municipal position in 2021 with a resounding 61 per cent of the vote, is nearing the end of her first mandate. That mandate was highlighted by issues such as the deer cull at Michel-Chartrand Park and the rise of homelessness in the South Shore city.

She told reporters she sees a possible second term as an opportunity to advance affordable housing, infrastructure and environmental issues in the municipality.

Fournier made the move to municipal politics after starting her career at the provincial level — with the Parti Québécois and then as an independent. She became the youngest woman ever elected to Quebec’s National Assembly when she won the Marie-Victorin byelection in 2016 – at the age of 24.

–With files from La Presse Canadienne