Projet Montréal leadership race: new leader to be elected Saturday

The results of the Projet Montréal leadership race for the next leader will be known on Saturday.

After party members will have voted to elect their new leader throughout the day on Saturday, results will be revealed around 8 p.m.

Those in the running are city councillor, Ericka Alneus; former president of Projet Montréal, Guedwig Bernier; borough mayor of Côte-des-Neiges–NDG, Gracia Kasoki Katahwa; borough mayor of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension, Laurence Lavigne Lalonde; and Plateau-Mont-Royal borough mayor, Luc Rabouin.

The six-week leadership race started shortly after Mayor Valérie Plante announced this past October that she would not seek re-election after serving two mandates.

In February, Projet Montréal party members came together for a leadership debate with the five candidates, who shared their visions for Montreal and discussed key issues in the Ville-Marie borough, from housing affordability to public safety.

Almost 200 party members gathered at the Saint-Pierre Centre to hear about their top concerns: affordable housing, public safety, strategic development, governance, mobility, and safe transportation.

The candidate elected will go on to become a mayoral candidate for the Nov. 2 municipal elections.

In the meantime, the Official Opposition at Montreal’s City Hall, Ensemble Montréal has named former federal Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada as its new party leader and candidate for mayor of Montreal.

Martinez Ferrada was the only candidate to announce her intentions to run for the leadership of Ensemble Montréal, and because she was uncontested, her election was acclaimed.