Projet Montréal focuses on continuity

Photo: Adil Boukind Le Devoir Members of Projet Montréal were gathered for a conference on Sunday at Collège de Maisonneuve in Montreal.

Marco Fortier

Published yesterday at 7:47 p.m.

• Montréal

Valérie Plante’s party, Projet Montréal, adopted a program focused on continuity on Sunday, after two consecutive terms at city hall. The mayor, who will bow out in the November 2025 elections, invited her activists to “convince Montrealers” to give her party another mandate to “improve the quality of life” in the city.

Valérie Plante highlighted the “talent, competence and passion” of Projet Montréal’s elected officials, who have what it takes to take over after her departure, according to her. But, “like the reed,” the party will have to “stay upright” in the face of the headwinds that are blowing after two terms.

“We need to tell Montrealers that a bike path is not what causes traffic and traffic jams in Montreal. It's the number of cars that causes traffic jams,” the mayor said at the end of the Projet Montréal convention on Sunday.

Photo: Adil Boukind Le Devoir Mayor Valerie Plante

“We're going to have to convince Montrealers that we don't like construction sites either. We're doing it because previous administrations haven't dealt with them for decades,” she added. The mayor received a vibrant tribute from her troops, who highlighted “her courage, her perseverance and her integrity.”

Nearly 300 Projet Montréal activists adopted a platform aimed at continuing the momentum of Valérie Plante, who came to power in 2017. Resolutions called on the city to pressure other levels of government to fund the construction of social housing and public transit — stations on the green and blue metro lines have been closed due to lack of maintenance in recent decades. The pink metro line, an idea from 2017, also returned to the platform.

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There was also talk of “strengthening the cycling culture” on the island. Party members agreed to “deploy and improve the cycling network to make it safe and efficient,” including by creating links with neighborhoods poorly served by cycle paths.

Elected officials on the lookout

For two days, Projet Montréal elected officials also tempered the activists’ ardor by amending or rejecting proposals. Two proposals from the party’s youth wing concerning the Montreal Police Service (SPVM) were rejected.

One called for “making the use of body cameras mandatory for the entire police force.” The other proposed, “in collaboration with the SPVM, [to] set up a pilot project to assess the possibility that some police officers do not carry a firearm during certain interventions.”

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The mayor of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles, Caroline Bourgeois, opposed the police officers putting away their weapons, highlighting the violence that is causing a lot of concern in her borough. Citizens are still traumatized by the triple murder that occurred in 2021 in the area.

“In my opinion, this was a completely inappropriate proposal. For me, it’s obvious [that police officers should carry a weapon]. People have completely legitimate concerns. As a political party, we have a duty to listen to our citizens,” she told Devoir on the sidelines of the convention.

She is pleased that a series of resolutions are calling for a shift in the development of the eastern part of the island, whether in economic terms, public transportation, car sharing and even BIXI stations.

Building trust

Aaron Stafford, a young activist with Projet Montréal, acknowledged the “respectful and mature” debate that took place on the subject of the police — including on disarmament. “For me, this is democracy in action. We may not be ready, as members, to adopt this type of solution, but for us, for the young people, the goal is first to build trust in the SPVM. “You have to have ambition,” he told Devoir.

There was ambition in the party ranks over the weekend. Borough mayors are expected to enter the race to succeed Valérie Plante, the timing of which remains to be determined. Activists expect the election to begin in early 2025, with a view to a coronation in the spring.

The names of Luc Rabouin (Plateau-Mont-Royal), Robert Beaudry (Ville-Marie), Laurence Lavigne Lalonde (Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension), Maja Vodanovic (Lachine) and other Projet Montréal elected officials are circulating among party members. Solidarity MNA Vincent Marissal also said he was being courted to enter the mayoral race.