Denis Coderre is quitting municipal politics — again — and will not be the leader of the opposition at city hall.
Coderre announced his decision Friday following a closed-door meeting with members of his party, Ensemble Montréal, at a community centre in the city’s Villeray neighbourhood.
He failed to win back his former spot as the mayor of Montreal during last Sunday’s municipal elections, losing to incumbent Valérie Plante by 14 percentage points, an even wider margin than when she defeated him in 2017.
Coderre told a group of reporters that after 40 years in politics, it was time to move on for good.
He also said he felt the latest municipal campaign was a referendum on his personality, instead of the parties’ platforms.
“In the end, it wasn’t about the issues, it was about me,” he said.
Four years ago, Coderre also stepped away from his party, which was called Équipe Denis Coderre, but was rebranded as Ensemble Montréal after he left.
His departure leaves a leadership void in the opposition at city hall.
The previous opposition leader, Lionel Perez, who is also a member of Ensemble Montréal, lost his bid to become borough mayor of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in Sunday’s election.
Last March, Coderre released a book called Retrouver Montréal, which he touted as his vision for the city, while announcing he would once again run for mayor.
For much of the campaign, opinion polls suggested a tight race between Plante and Coderre, who emphasized the importance of economic development and public safety during his mayoral run.
In the final week, the veteran politician and former federal cabinet minister came under criticism for initially refusing to disclose the consulting work he did prior to confirming his candidacy.
WATCH | Denis Coderre explains why he is leaving politics:
Denis Coderre quits politics after another municipal election loss
18 hours ago
Denis Coderre met with the reporters to explain his decision to quit politics and step down as the leader of Ensemble Montréal. 0:41
When asked why he believes he lost two consecutive elections to Plante, Coderre did not provide a direct answer.
“I was not running against Valérie Plante, I was running for Montreal,” he said, echoing something he said several times during the campaign.
Parting shots for Plante, low voter turnout
While addressing the media, the longtime politician took a few digs at the current mayor and leader of Projet Montréal.
“Unfortunately, during this campaign, we didn’t really talk about the [Plante administration’s] last four years,” he said. “I have the impression that environment [policies] from Projet Montréal was copying word for word many of our ideas.”
During his concession speech last Sunday, Coderre said the race “one of the dirtiest campaigns” he had ever experienced. On Friday, he reiterated his belief that his camp ran a clean campaign that focused on issues.
Coderre said he reached out to Plante in the days following her victory and congratulated her. He also insists he is not bitter about the election loss.
He also lamented the low voter turnout in the city, which was around 38 per cent.
“[Montreal] is starting to look like a “big school board,” he said, in reference to the extremely low voter turnout for school board elections.
In a statement, Plante described her two-time opponent as someone who cares about the city, wished him well in his future endeavours, and said her administration would “offer its full collaboration” to the person who succeeds him as leader of the official opposition.
The race for Montreal’s city hall in 2021 was a rematch between Valérie Plante and Denis Coderre. (Jean-Claude Taliana/Radio-Canada)
What’s next for Coderre?
Despite another convincing election loss, Coderre said he is encouraged by his party’s prospects, adding that he feels confident that Ensemble Montréal has “four or five potential candidates” that could become the city’s next mayor.
“We are the true alternative [to Projet Montréal],” he said. “I feel good about the team, I feel good about the people who are elected who are doing a great job.”
He did not specify what his plans were moving forward. He did say he would try to find different ways to make the city better, even if his career as a politician is over.
“I will contribute to the development of Montreal in other ways,” he said. “We have to make room for other generations.”
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
