More social housing, reducing speed limits among Plante’s priorities for final year in office

Keeping Montreal’s construction sites clean is one of Mayor Valérie Plante’s top priorities for her final months in office.

Plante is vowing to ensure construction sites are well maintained across all neighbourhoods with a construction site management plan.

That plan would include an awareness campaign on cleanliness and the coordination of snow removal with site cleaning during the spring thaw.

It’s one of five main goals outlined by Plante at a press conference Wednesday during which she laid out what she wants to accomplish in 2025 – her final term in office after she announced she would not be seeking a third term in this fall’s municipal elections.

“I stand before you with the same energy, vision and determination to find concrete solutions to the complex issues we are facing,” said Plante.

“I am extremely proud of our work so far but I know that it’s not finished, that’s for sure.

Plante says she wants to use her final year in power to continue transforming the city.

“There are still issues to be addressed, decisions to be made and changes to be implemented before the next election.”

“If we’re going to talk about the cleanliness in the city, we were trying to tell the mayor for the last seven years we’re asking her to have people and to have the budget to use in the 19 boroughs and make sure at least the boroughs are clean,” said Aref Salem, Ensemble Montréal leader, Montreal’s official opposition. “This is like repeating this for the last seven years.”

#WATCH: Keeping Montreal’s construction sites clean is one of Mayor Valérie Plante’s top priorities for her final months in office.

READ: https://t.co/LunsWV9gs8 pic.twitter.com/jan8rYOBi0

— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) January 15, 2025

Also included in her main goals is a plan to reduce speed limits in front of 35 schools that are in areas where the speed zone is currently 40 km/h or more.

CityNews spoke with Montrealers to see what they wanted Plante to tackle before she ends her term.

“We see a lot of gangs, a lot of thieves, I would like more security in the city,” said one Montrealer.

“I’d like to see all the potholes fixed,” said another Montrealer.

“The bike lanes have to go, and the homeless people, there’s too many everywhere,” said a local.

“The homelessness today, it’s like we have a crisis like never before in the city and I don’t know how within the next ten months she’s going to change this,” said Salem.

The Montreal mayor also promised the city would continue to help the Quebec government in providing housing for the homeless.

“In addition to the 60 spaces that will be offered starting this spring in modular housing, the mayor hopes to announce, by the end of her term, additional spaces in this type of transitional housing located on city land that will eventually house social housing units,” the City of Montreal said in a news release.

“Since becoming mayor, I’ve always rolled up my sleeves no matter the challenge,” said Plante. “The last year of my term will not be any different while we have not solved everything by the end of this year, I guarantee you that I will work to improve Montreal and the daily lives of everyone until my last day.”

This comes as the race to replace her as leader of Projet Montréal gets underway on Feb. 3 and candidates include: Plateau-Mont-Royal borough mayor, Luc Rabouin; city councillor Ericka Alneusl; Lachine borough mayor, Maja Vodanovic; and Gracia Kasoki Katahwa, borough mayor of Montréal’s Côte-des-Neiges–NDG. Former Projet Montréal president Guedwig Bernier is also running.

“Although I will not be a candidate in the next election my term as mayor ends on Nov. 2, not before,” said Plante. “I will not slow down. On the contrary, we have 300 days left.”

–With files from Alyssia Rubertucci