Laval mayor confirms he’s running for second term despite health issue

Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer. (LA PRESSE CANADIENNE/Christinne Muschi)

Laval Mayor Stephane Boyer said he is seeking a second term in office to run Quebec’s third largest city.

Boyer made the announcement Wednesday while also revealing that he is staying in politics despite having a personal health issue that affects his daily life.

In an interview with CTV News, the 37-year-old said he was diagnosed more than a decade ago with Ankylosing spondylitis, a type of arthritis that affects the spinal cord.

He said that the condition can make it difficult to stand or walk for long periods of time and wanted to go public about it in case residents start noticing any symptoms.

“When we talk about doing a second term that means a new campaign trail, going door-to-door, this means a lot of events and this also means that, if I am to win the election, maybe in the upcoming years I won’t be able to stand up so much in all of the events,” he said.

“So, I wanted to make it public because I’ve never talked about it before and I want people to know why if they see me sitting down when everybody is standing up, it’s not because I’m lazy, it’s not because I’m bored. It’s because I have this health issue.”

It took two years to get diagnosed and he will have the disease for life, not knowing how it will evolve down the road. But he’s not letting it get in his way.

“[People] might see some symptoms but my brain is still all there, my passion is still full for the city and I don’t want this to stop me but I wanted to be transparent with the citizens,” he said.

“Life goes on and we need to be able to fulfill and reach our dreams and our passions.”

One of his passions is making Laval an even better place to live and he wants to do that by providing better services for residents, saying it’s not enough to have only one hospital, one CEGEP, and one homeless shelter.

Part of his second mandate, should he win in the municipal election this year, is to make sure the City of Laval is not ignored compared to larger hubs in Quebec.

“I feel that historically, we didn’t get the share of the cake that we deserve,” he told CTV News.

“When you look at the budget of the provincial or federal government, we often have only half of what citizens of Montreal or Quebec City get. And I feel this is not fair. So I want to keep fighting for Laval and I think we deserve to have better infrastructure, better services in general. And that’s true for health, that’s true for education, that’s true for public transit.”

He also stressed the need to continue initiatives in economic development, housing, public security, and culture.

Another key issue he wants to tackle is efficiency in government.

“I want my citizens, when they call the city because they have a problem with potholes, they want to apply for a job, they need a building permit, I want them to have a seamless, fast, easy experience. I think this will change the way we see our city,” he said.

Boyer became Laval’s youngest elected mayor in 2021 at the age of 33.

The next municipal election is scheduled for Nov. 2.