Montrealers Vote: Polling underway to pick the next mayor

It’s voting day for the Montreal municipal elections and by the end of the night, there will be a new mayor leading Montreal.

As of 4 p.m. Sunday, Élections Montréal estimated the voter turnout to be 27 per cent.

A Pallas Data poll released just a few days before election day showed that one in three voters were undecided about their choice for mayor.

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The hesitation seemed to play out up until the ballot box.

“It was hard,” said Diane, who was waiting in line to vote. “I just don’t know for who to vote for. It will be a voting booth decision.”

While other voters were second-guessing their choice even after casting their ballot.

“I don’t know if I made the right choice, so I’m a little bit stressed about that. But in the grand scheme of everything, I think it’s just important to do your ‘devoir’ to vote,” said one voter.

Some voters said they made their choice based specific policy proposals or their personal values.

Frédérique, a social worker student, said she voted for Transition Montréal’s Craig Sauvé because of his position on short-term rentals. “He wants to cut off Airbnb. I’m ready for it,” she said.

Another voter Jean-Christophe said he felt hopeful after voting.

“Because Ensemble Montréal, which is not really related to my values, was like going up in the in the surveys,” he said, “I was a bit stressed about that.”

Young voters also got in on the action with Élection Montréal’s simulated voting experience at the ‘Little Polling Station.’ They were asked to choose the one action they believed would best help protect the environment — with the results to be revealed after the election.

For young voter Florence, more green spaces was the answer. “I think we should plant more trees in the future,” Florence said. “There are already some, but we should still add more.”

The polling will continue until 8 p.m. after which the election staff will start the counting.

Preliminary results will be released gradually on Élections Montréal website.