Lawyer Lynne Casgrain throws hat in ring for mayor of Westmount

Montreal Gazette

08-07-2025

By
Lynne Casgrain, a lawyer and former ombudsperson of the McGill University Health Centre, has become the first person to declare she'll run for mayor of Westmount in the Nov. 2 municipal election.
Her announcement Tuesday fills a void left by current mayor Christina Smith, who said in January she won't seek re-election. Casgrain's candidacy also suggests that Westmount's controversial redevelopment plan for its southeast sector bordering downtown Montreal will become a key ballot box issue.
'This issue of the southeast has really revived interest in Westmount zoning,' Casgrain said, noting that she disagrees with the highrise development called for in the mini urban plan for the sector and disagrees with Smith's decision to bring it to a vote of council, whose members mostly support the plan, in its dying days this September.
'That is the antithesis of how I have and will conduct myself if elected mayor,' Casgrain, who turns 70 this week, said. She describes the current council's public consultations on the southeast sector plan as going through the motions without listening to citizens.
The plan, which aims to revitalize the area around Ste-Catherine St. W. and Atwater Ave., includes rezoning to increase housing density, allow 20-storey highrises and lower the minimum floor space required for each residential unit.
Council has no studies showing any net financial gain for the city after its cost to build water, Hydro Westmount power supply and other infrastructure to service the development are factored in, Casgrain said. There are no studies even indicating what that infrastructure will cost the city, she said.
'In my view, acceptable density can be achieved with lower-rise construction, which is much more in keeping with the traditional Westmount pattern,' Casgrain said. She pointed to Paris, France, where the council voted in 2023 to place a 12-storey limit on new construction in that city.
Casgrain also criticizes the current council for springing decisions on Westmounters without consultation, including changes to household waste collection and the closing of the children's playground in Westmount Park for renovations last summer. Council's plan to build an uphill bike path on Claremont Ave. was scrapped at the last minute after pushback from residents.
This is Casgrain's first foray into politics, but says her 20 years as the MUHC's ombudsperson was good preparation.
'Being an ombudsman entails listening to complaints, verifying their validity and communicating with (personnel) to find concrete solutions,' she said.
Former Westmount mayor Peter Trent, who encouraged Casgrain to run, said she's capable of uniting citizens.
'She's a rassembleuse (unifier),' he said. 'We need that right now. We need someone who can listen, think and then act, as opposed to what this council has been doing, which is acting and then listening to the public.'
'I am very enthusiastic about the fact that someone of her calibre and background has decided to run for the position,' said Karin Marks, another former mayor of Westmount.
Casgrain, who is married to constitutional lawyer Julius Grey, is the daughter of Marie-Claire Kirkland Casgrain, who was the first woman elected to the Quebec National Assembly and the province's first female cabinet minister. Her mother, who died in 2016, instilled in her a desire to give back to the community and a sense that the way to get things done in politics is through teamwork, she said.
'It's very hard to say no to public service,' Casgrain said. 'And that's why I'm in this — not for politics but to serve the citizens of Westmount.'