Latest news with #CathyWong
Montreal Gazette
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Projet Montréal selects Cathy Wong to replace Luc Rabouin in the Plateau
Projet Montréal has picked former city councillor Cathy Wong to defend one of its most symbolic strongholds — the Plateau–Mont-Royal — as current borough mayor Luc Rabouin sets his sights on the mayoralty of Montreal. In an interview with The Gazette, Wong said she wants to build on Rabouin's legacy and continue efforts to increase inclusion and accessibility across the borough. 'I feel thrilled, really, really thrilled,' she said. 'In 2021, when I decided to step away from politics, I did so to focus on my children. And, today, I'm coming back in a certain way for them — to build a more inclusive, greener, more accessible and human city.' Wong, who served from 2017 to 2021 as councillor for Peter-McGill, said the issues that are important to her are housing, mobility and accessibility — but through a lens of inclusivity. 'I strongly believe that everything Projet Montréal did here on the Plateau are extremely important measures for a greener, more inclusive city,' she said. 'My vision is really to make the Plateau more accessible and more inclusive.' Wong pushed back on criticism the borough's pedestrian-first approach is too aggressive. 'I wouldn't call it car bans,' she said, explaining it allows residents to walk and 'enjoy the city differently.' But at the same time, she acknowledged the challenges in execution of public policies: 'I think there are a lot of things we can do better. The Plateau has done amazing work in acquiring new lands but, today, we need to make them come true. We need to build them. We need to work with other governmental partners.' On housing, Wong listed three priorities: tenant protections, support for community groups and scaling up affordable housing. She also addressed tensions over the borough's noise policy, which has divided residents and venue owners. 'When it comes to noise in Montreal, it is hard to reach unanimous consensus … but I believe it is possible to find common ground,' she said. When asked about accessibility, Wong cited the borough's universal accessibility plan as a major step forward. 'Our challenge will be to implement it and to make sure our budget walks the talk.' And despite a shifting political landscape, she said her values remain firmly aligned with the party. 'I feel 100 per cent aligned with the party … I stand by every decision that was taken by our party.' About Cathy Wong on her LinkedIn Former city councillor for Peter-McGill (2017–2021). Chaired Montreal's municipal council. Served on the executive committee handling diversity, inclusion, language and anti-racism. Currently vice-president of Equity and Inclusion at Telefilm Canada. Former columnist for Le Devoir and Radio-Canada. Speaks fluent English, French and Chinese. Studied political science and international development at McGill and law at UQAM. This story was originally published June 21, 2025 at 2:11 PM.
CBC
10 hours ago
- Politics
- CBC
After 4 years away, Cathy Wong hopes to return to Montreal city council
Former Montreal city council speaker, Cathy Wong is seeking to replace Coun. Luc Rabouin as borough mayor for Plateau-Mont-Royal in the next election — four years after she exited municipal politics. Wong will run as a candidate with Projet Montréal while Rabouin vies for the city mayor's office in November. Wong, who represented the Peter-McGill district in downtown Montreal from 2017 until 2021, said she did not know she would be coming back when she chose not to seek re-election to prioritize her family. "It's really since I would say December, after the American elections but also after a lot of different crises — climate crisis, social crisis, democratic crisis — that I felt the need to come back to be more involved in building policies that are feminist, that are inclusive, and that are green," she said. "In the last six months, every time I was opening the news, I felt so much anger, felt powerless," she said, adding that it created a feeling of wanting to be involved. If elected, Wong says she'd like to work to improve accessibility in the Plateau-Mont-Royal focusing on traffic-calming and street safety measures, housing and increasing universal accessibility. She moved to the borough in 2021 and lives there with her family. For the last four years she's been working as the vice-president of Telefilm Canada. Wong was first elected as a member of Ensemble Montréal in 2017, becoming the first elected official of Chinese descent at city hall. She was named speaker that same year, making her the first woman to hold the job in Montreal. She quit her party to sit as an independent and later joined Projet Montréal in 2019. She also became the first executive committee member in charge of fighting racism and discrimination. "I believe that the city has advanced in terms of inclusivity and in terms of accessibility but of course there's still work to be done," she said. "Today I'm running for mayor of a borough where I believe that there is still so many opportunities to make our borough more accessible, more inclusive, and this is the work I want to focus on."
