Federal tourism minister Martinez-Ferrada resigns from cabinet in bid to become Montreal’s next mayor

A new politician has thrown her hat in the ring to become Montreal’s next mayor.

Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez-Ferrada has resigned from cabinet and as the federal Liberal Party national campaign co-chair and is turning her attention to municipal politics.

Martinez-Ferrada posted a video on social media Thursday announcing her candidacy to lead the municipal party Ensemble Montréal — the first candidate to announce her intention to run.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she says in the video. “I’m actually coming back home, coming back to Montreal, because I choose Montreal, and I can’t wait to have a conversation with all of you.”

She also shared her resignation letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a subsequent post.

“This was not an easy decision, but it is one that I know is right, in which I will continue to fight for progressive values,” Martinez-Ferrada wrote in her resignation letter.

“The desire to serve the city that welcomed the young refugee from Chile, to serve the city that gave me my start in politics, is one that is too important for me to ignore.”

Ensemble Montréal members will select their new leader on April 6, who will represent the party as its mayoral candidate in the city’s November election.

Mayor Valérie Plante, the longtime leader of Projet Montréal, is not seeking re-election. Projet Montréal has five candidates running to be leader of that party; a decision will be made March 15.

Martinez-Ferrada was first elected to the federal riding of Hochelaga in 2019.

The 52-year-old HEC Montréal graduate was a city councillor in Montreal’s Saint-Michel from 2005 to 2009.

“My whole career has been devoted to Montreal and its citizens,” she said. “In the past few weeks, a lot of you have reached out for me to get involved, in a new way, as mayor of Montreal.

“We want an administration with more ambition, an administration that listens more to its citizens.”

Repercussions in Ottawa

Martinez-Ferrada was one of the Liberal’s national campaign co-chairs, alongside Prairies Economic Development Minister Terry Duguid.

Parker Lund, Liberal party spokesperson, said that Duguid will continue to work closely with national campaign director Andrew Bevan and his deputy Marjorie Michel ahead of the next election.

He added there is “no news to share as of now” when it comes to naming a new co-chair.

While the next federal election is not scheduled to take place until the fall, there is a strong likelihood Canadians go to the polls earlier with all three main opposition parties saying they plan to bring down the minority Liberal government at the earliest opportunity.

The House of Commons is set to reconvene on March 24, and confidence votes are expected to quickly follow with MPs needing to vote on the throne speech and government funding shortly after.