Montreal reacts to Projet Montréal’s new leadership
Posted March 16, 2025 4:56 pm.
Last Updated March 16, 2025 4:57 pm.
Projet Montréal elected Luc Rabouin as their new leader Saturday to succeed Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante as the party prepares for municipal elections this fall.
Party members voted for the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough mayor over four other candidates in the leadership race. The new party leader campaigned on four priorities: addressing the housing crisis; the ecological transition; the development of the city’s east end and a high performance administration.
“My style is very different and I focus on very tangible solutions that we can put in place within our city budget,” said Rabouin. “I always worked with all the communities, including the business community.”
Political analyst Karim Boulos thinks it will be “interesting to see if he’s able to rally and bring the business community into the conversation.”
“So far he said he wants to work with everybody, but I haven’t seen anything,” said Boulos. “Valerie Plante was criticized for not taking into consideration the business community’s economic development… construction development, real estate being the main money driver for city income.”
RELATED: Luc Rabouin elected new leader of Projet Montréal
Rabouin will now lead Projet Montréal into the next municipal election on November 2nd. Last October, Valérie Plante had announced she would not seek a third term as Montreal mayor.
“It’s going to be difficult for whoever was going to take over Projet Montreal, because, you know, Valerie Plante was quite a figure, she was very charismatic.” said Boulos. “She charmed her public and her supporters liked her very much, she had a very effervescent personality.”
There will be new challenges for the candidate elected next November.
“The mayor is going to have to stand up for Montreal and present a vision for something a little different the last eight years,” said Boulos.
“The next administration’s job is to try to find a solution for the high taxes, the high rents, the difficult economic conditions,” he said. “Trying to deal with Amazons and the Walmarts of the world.”
CityNews spoke to some Montrealers who had mixed feelings on the current state of the city.
“I agree with the decisions that Valerie Plante took,” said one Montrealer. “It took someone who was able to take hard decisions for actions that should have been taken long ago.”
A mother of two said, “We just made a complaint to the city about the cleanliness in our neighbourhood, which is really horrible… I want a mayor who considers the reality that Montreal families face. My vote will depend on their commitment to this issue.”
Another was concerned with inflation and the cost of living.
“The municipal taxes are outrageous; prices just keep rising,” he said. “I’m a homeowner, but it’s crazy, it’s madness, I don’t know how it can keep going in this direction, not everyone is making a $100,000 salary.”
Rabouin will be up against Soraya Martinez Ferrada, the new leader of Ensemble Montréal, who was previously federal tourism minister and Member of Parliament for Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
“It’s a big responsibility, I want to be a mayor who also focuses on his family,” said Rabouin. “I want to do both, be a good mayor, a good father and a good lover for my wife.”
