Luc Rabouin to lead Projet Montréal into 2025 municipal elections
Projet Montréal members have elected Luc Rabouin to become their next leader.
On Saturday evening, he won 59.2 per cent of the vote in the fourth round, while the borough mayor for Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Gracia Kasoki Katahwa, came in second with 40.8 per cent.
Also in the running were city councillor Ericka Alneus, former Projet Montréal president Guedwig Bernier and borough mayor Laurence Lavigne Lalonde.
At one point, the borough mayor for Lachine, Maja Vodanovic, was also in the race but decided in January to drop out of the race and endorsed Rabouin instead.
Rabouin, mayor of the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough and chair of the city's executive committee, said that, as Montreal's mayor, he would focus on the environment and housing — two areas Valérie Plante prioritized during her tenure as the city's mayor.
On Saturday evening, in front of over 300 people at Entrepôts Dominion in the Saint-Henri neighbourhood, delivered a speech that, in addition to housing and climate change, focused on the economy. He also called for a greater autonomy of the city in relation to Quebec City and Ottawa, while highlighting the need to strengthen ties with the Quebec government.
The municipal elections will take place on Nov. 2, 2025.
In February, the Official Opposition party Ensemble Montréal announced MP Soraya Martinez Ferrada was its new leader.
The two other parties represented at city hall are Équipe LaSalle Team led by LaSalle borough mayor Nancy Blanchet and Équipe Anjou led by Anjou borough mayor Luis Miranda.
Last fall, Montreal mayor Valérie Plante announced she would not seek a third term in office after seven years on the job.
"I realized I was not able to guarantee Montrealers four more years with the same level of energy that I have always given," she told a room of reporters and staff at city hall in October 2024.
Plante has led the party since December 2016. She will continue to serve as mayor until the end of her mandate.
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