Montreal residents are heading to the polls to vote in the Nov. 2 municipal election. There are eight candidates running to succeed Mayor Valérie Plante and become the city’s 46th mayor. CTV News Montreal anchor Mutsumi Takahashi spoke to the five leading candidates. Watch the full interviews below: Ensemble Montréal, Soraya Martinez Ferrada Mutsumi Takahashi: “You say Montreal is in decline, and you say Montrealers are tired of everything in Montreal. Do you really think Montrealers are tired of everything in Montreal? Is it as bad as that?” Soraya Martinez Ferrada: “Well, yes... That’s what I’m hearing. They’re tired of the fact that it’s difficult to get around, that the city is not as clean as they thought before, and that they don’t feel as safe as they were before. So yes, there is a lot of frustration right now among the citizens, and I think the city needs to do better.” Mutsumi Takahashi: “Anything good you can say about Montreal then?” Soraya Martinez Ferrada: “Oh my God, yes. Montreal is the biggest city in Quebec. It is the metropolis of Canada, and I think we have so much going on and I think we can do so much better in terms of artificial intelligence, our festivals, we have so many good things that we can look forward to in the city. And of course, we can rely on ourselves, on these great things that we have, but do so much better because we have what it takes to be a great metropolis and give our citizens a neighbourhood where they’re proud to live in.” Projet Montréal, Luc Rabouin Mutsumi Takahashi: “You have tried to differentiate yourself from the [Valérie] Plante administration, promising to reverse some policies. For example, the road over Mount Royal, the frequency of garbage collection, but you were head of the city executive committee, so did you not agree with all the policies of the Plante administration when those policies were brought in?” Luc Rabouin: “You’re right. I was the president of the executive committee for one year. I was a member of this administration, and I decided to change different things, but I did not change the goal. I changed the way, and this is exactly what I want people to hear from me: that I have the same vision, values are the same. We work for Montrealers, the quality of life in neighbourhoods, but I have a different approach. I have a different experience. And this is what I want to show to Montrealers, and it’s why I decided to change different things, just to explain that there’s a new leader and there’s a new approach for Montreal.” Transition Montréal, Craig Sauvé Mutsumi Takahashi: “You used to be with Projet Montréal. Then you ran unsuccessfully for the NDP. Now you’re with Transition Montreal, and I’ve heard people wonder about what your commitments are. Whether it is about an ideology or whether you just want to get elected. What would you say to them?” Craig Sauvé: “I’ve been a servant of the City of Montreal and the neighbourhoods in the Southwest for 12 years as a city councillor. So, I have a lot of experience and have a lot to offer. Transition Montréal is a citizen group that decided we need more voices at City Hall because just having two parties, well, this polarization that we’ve seen at city council, it’s not useful. Look at the United States. Two parties does not bring good discussion. So we have ideas. We have bold ideas. We’re talking about tripling the financing for homelessness services. We’re talking about democratic reform, which is very significant, so we can have more proportional representation in Montreal, and we’re talking about bringing more work in-house. That means fighting privatization in Montreal, and we’re the only party that’s talking about those three things.” Action Montréal, Gilbert Thibodeau Mutsumi Takahashi: “Action Montréal puts emphasis on business and industry, founded by people who say they want the city to have a sound financial management. How exactly do you plan to do that?” Gilbert Thibodeau: “The first thing we have to do is to check all the numbers in Montreal. It looks like nobody takes care of how much the public pays. It’s a lot of taxes, a lot of different places that you spend, you spend, you spend, and you never know what is the new service for what I pay. So, the first 100 days, I always say, I’m going to check all the numbers because we have to serve the public. And this is not exactly what’s happening in the last 10, 12, 15, years.” Futur Montréal, Jean-François Kacou Mutusumi Takahashi: “Your party says that it offers what you call a pragmatic vision for a 21st-century city’s future challenges. What exactly is your vision for that 21st century city? Jean-François Kacou: “First of all, our vision for Montreal is a city that moves, so that’s why we want the best bus network in the world. We also want a city that takes care of its residents. This morning [Oct. 23], we had the opportunity to announce our platform, where we announced that we want to professionalize the College of elected officials to diversify our revenue and also to invest in our food and security, in our food security and sovereignty, and on top of that, in our energy for the ecological transition. So this will be our vision for the Montreal of the 21st Century.” READ: Kacou’s full interview here.
