For the first time in 20 years the fast-growing community of Vaudreuil-Dorion will have a new mayor. Much of that growth came under the mandate of mayor Guy Pilon, who had a long career in construction, and at 72 years of age, said it’s time for him to retire. “I’m very happy about the way Vaudreuil-Dorion developed,” he said. When he was first elected mayor in 2005, the city had a population of 18,000. Twenty years later it’s reached nearly 49,000. Much of that growth has been driven by young families seeking more affordable housing. In Vaudreuil-Dorion, the median price for a single-family home hover over $600,000. Pilon said his greatest achievement is the recreational spaces, parks and facilities that have been built. “No child in Vaudreuil-Dorion will be left aside because their parents don’t have money to do activities,” he said. There are two candidates vying to succeed Pilon; Paul Dumoulin, a city councillor who leads Pilon’s former party, le Parti de l’action de Vaudreuil-Dorion, and fellow city councillor, Karine Lechasseur, who co-founded a new party, Inspire Vaudreuil-Dorion. Dumoulin started his career in local politics 33 years ago in Dorion, before the city merged with Vaudreuil. Among his priorities is fixing the traffic issues that plague the city, especially on the stretch of Highway 20 that runs through Dorion. “Nobody wants to have a commerce here because it’s too loud, there’s too much traffic,” he said, adding that he would increase pressure on the province to build the Highway 20 bypass on lands the government has already expropriated for the project. Dumoulin would also improve city infrastructure to lower future flood risks. “The issue is the flooding, also the sewer backup that we had on the 9th of August,” he said. His opponent, fellow city councillor and leader of Inspire Vaudreuil-Dorion, Karine Lechasseur said she also wants to tackle the traffic problems, including improving public transit. She said her party wants to take a different approach to development. “We need to take a breath and just take the time to decide what we want for the future and be able to say no,” she said. She said her party wants to create more affordable housing and protect greenspaces. “It will be too late, in the 20 years to say sorry, we just, don’t have any green space and space for new schools and any place to play,” she said. The next mayor will have face some big challenges. The opening of the hospital has been delayed to at least 2027 due to staffing shortages, and there are concerns about whether the Ile-aux-Tourtes, a crucial artery connecting Vaudreuil-Dorion to Montreal, will be completed in time.
