Former mayoral candidate Luc Rabouin becomes Foundation of Greater Montreal president and CEO

Montreal mayoral candidate Luc Rabouin speaks during a campaign stop in Montreal, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Quebec's municipal elections will be held on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

Defeated Montreal mayoral candidate Luc Rabouin will be the new President and CEO of the Foundation of Greater Montreal (FGM).

The former Projet Montréal leader, who succeeded former mayor Valérie Plante as head of his party, will take up his post on Jan. 19, the foundation announced in a news release issued on Friday morning.

The FGM, founded in 1999, is Quebec’s largest community foundation with more than half a billion dollars in assets distributed among 800 philanthropic funds.

After Plante’s withdrawal, Rabouin ran for mayor of Montreal, but was defeated by former federal minister and Ensemble Montréal leader Soraya Martinez Ferrada last November.

On the evening of his defeat, Rabouin announced his resignation. Rosemont--La Petite Patrie City Councillor Ericka Alneus became interim leader of Projet Montréal.

During his political career with the City of Montreal, Rabouin was mayor of the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough and chair of the city’s executive committee.

Before entering elected office, he headed the Centre d’écologie urbaine de Montréal (Montreal Urban Ecology Centre) and served as director of strategic development and communications at the Caisse d’économie solidaire Desjardins.

In a news release issued by the foundation, Rabouin said he was excited about his new challenge.

“The FGM is a flagship institution in our community and a leader in the philanthropic sector in Montreal, but also in Quebec and Canada,” he said.

Karen Macdonald, chair of the FGM’s board of directors, emphasized that the FGM “could not have found a better leader to begin the next chapter in its history.”

“Luc’s leadership style, marked by attentiveness and kindness, is perfectly aligned with the Foundation’s vision and the role it aspires to play in the Greater Montreal community,” she added.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 9, 2026.