Latest news with #TransitionMontréal
Montreal Gazette
3 days ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Opinion: New party aims to ‘shake up' Montreal election. It just might
With just over three months to go before Montrealers elect their new mayor, the race for the city's top job has taken a new turn with the arrival of a party promising to 'shake things up.' Independent city councillor Craig Sauvé has launched Transition Montréal, aiming to offer 'another choice for Montrealers, instead of the two older parties.' This could spell trouble for Sauvé's former party, Projet Montréal, which he represented from 2013 to 2021 before leaving following allegations of sexual misconduct dating back to 2012. With a progressive, unapologetically left-leaning platform, Transition Montréal risks splitting the vote, potentially hurting Luc Rabouin's chances of succeeding Valérie Plante as mayor — and of securing a majority at city hall this November. That could benefit Ensemble Montréal — Denis Coderre's former party, now led by ex-federal minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada. In tightly contested boroughs and districts, just a few dozen votes might be enough to swing the outcome. So instead of the two-way race many were expecting, Montrealers will now have a third option — and having more choice is usually a good thing in a democracy. While Ensemble Montréal currently faces little competition on the centre-right of the political spectrum, left-leaning voters will have not one but two parties to choose from. Depending on Transition Montréal's performance this fall, this could be a real game changer. That said, Sauvé is entering the race quite late. Building a party from scratch — including raising funds for the campaign, recruiting over 100 candidates to run in each of the city's boroughs, hiring a complete team of organizers, bringing in dozens of volunteers to help with canvassing and getting the vote out — is no small feat, especially in such a short time. It's an ambitious plan, to say the least, if not nearly impossible to achieve. Still, the party is putting forward ideas that could appeal to many of Projet Montréal's traditional supporters. One of its main promises is to further tax the city's so-called 'ultra-wealthy' — those who own a single-family home or luxury condo worth more than $3.5 million. Sauvé wants to use the resulting revenue to fund homelessness initiatives, saying it could double the current funding for such programs. Sauvé, who was first elected in the Sud-Ouest borough in 2013, also wants to make public transit more affordable for those who need it most. If elected, he plans to reduce fares for residents earning less than $45,000 a year. In short: Take more from the rich to give to the poor. Some kind of municipal Robin Hood, basically. This type of rhetoric is typical of the left — and it's likely to resonate with many Montrealers, particularly in areas where Projet Montréal enjoys strong support, such as Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Rosemont, Ville-Marie, and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. That's where Sauvé could do the most damage to his former party. Could there be surprises? Many will remember the 'Mélanie Joly effect' from the 2013 election. Though virtually unknown to the general public at the beginning of the campaign, she came close to defeating Coderre in the end — and even outperformed high-profile candidates like Richard Bergeron and Marcel Côté. Whether Sauvé can replicate that kind of momentum this fall remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: If neither of the two 'old parties' wins a majority and Transition Montréal manages to secure even just a few seats within city council, the new party could end up holding the balance of power — and the necessary leverage to significantly influence the next administration's agenda. And, who knows, maybe even negotiate with the new mayor to get a few seats on Montreal's executive committee — the municipal equivalent of a cabinet. Montreal's municipal marathon is just getting started. And all of a sudden, the race just got a lot more exciting.
Montreal Gazette
4 days ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Transition Montréal proposes ‘social fares' for low-income transit users, unveils first candidates
Montreal Politics By Transition Montréal is vowing to slash public transit fares for people with low incomes as the new municipal party begins to unveil parts of its platform and its first candidates across the city. The proposed measure of a 'social fare system' specifically targets Montrealers who earn $45,000 or less per year, party leader Craig Sauvé explained at a campaign event Monday morning. Transport and mobility are both 'key for social justice,' he said. 'It's a big one because as we see cost of living is going up everywhere, families are feeling pressure, people of all ages and backgrounds are feeling pressure,' Sauvé said. It marks Transition Montréal's third election promise since it officially launched earlier this month. Sauvé, its leader, has said he wanted to 'shake this race up.' The party, which bills itself as a progressive option, has also promised to fight homelessness through a luxury property tax for the 'ultra rich' and create a municipal task force to handle public work projects 'in house,' to rely less on private contractors. Sauvé unveiled the party's first set of candidates Monday and all three of them live in the boroughs in which they hope to be elected. He said Transition Montréal is aiming for 'quality candidates that represent their neighbourhoods.' Luc Corbin, who hopes to become the next mayor of the Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie borough, is a manager in manufacturing and co-founded the non-profit Masson Village, which brings green spaces to the busy Promenade Masson. He said if he is elected, he wants to meet with constituents across the sprawling borough and address their needs. Mama Khan restaurant owner Abdul Raziq Khan is running for city councillor in the Parc-Extension district, where he has lived for his entire life. He has distributed free meals outside the Parc métro station and he is behind the Madinah Foundation, which fights food insecurity in Montreal. Khan is hoping to oust stalwart Mary Deros, saying 'it's time for change.' UQAM law student Marika Lalime, who has run for the federal New Democratic Party multiple times, is Transition Montréal's candidate for borough councillor in Outremont's Joseph-Beaubien district. She has worked with Indigenous youth and the unhoused community through legal workshops and clinics, experiences she said has inspired her to help the city's most vulnerable. When asked about how many districts Transition Montréal has filled with candidates so far, Sauvé declined to give a precise number but said he's 'waiting on responses from so many people.' He added full slates are 'really tough to come by' but the party plans to 'cover as much as we can of the ground and try to get people in every borough.'
CTV News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Councillor Craig Sauvé enters mayoral race with new Transition Montréal party
Craig Sauvé launched his new municipal political party, Transition Montréal, Thursday morning. He will be running for mayor in the fall election. (Stéphane Giroux/CTV News) Independent councillor Craig Sauvé is throwing his name in the hat to be Montreal mayor in the fall election. Sauvé made the announcement Thursday with his new party Transition Montréal. The party is running on a progressive platform, which includes taxing the ultra-rich and putting an end to outsourcing for municipal projects. 'There is a huge appetite for a different way of doing municipal politics, a politics of solidarity, courage, and concrete action,' Sauvé said in a news release. The candidate said he plans on taxing single-family homes worth at least $3.5 million to fund initiatives dedicated to fighting homelessness. The party said it would invoke new special powers Quebec granted municipalities back in 2023 to do so. 'There's no shortage of money. It's just concentrated in too few hands while people are sleeping on the streets,' said Sauvé. 'This tax will help fund shelters and the organizations doing work on the ground.' Transition Montréal also plans on creating a municipal task force -- Infra-MTL -- to handle public works like sidewalks, speed bumps, curb extensions, paving, and bike lanes instead of outsourcing to private contractors. The party says having in-house workers handle these files will improve planning, speed up execution, and follow the Charbonneau Commission's recommendations. While Sauvé was surrounded by Transition Montréal's founding members and some supporters at a news conference Thursday morning, the party is still seeking candidates to fill its roster. It plans on running candidates in each of the city's boroughs. At City Hall, Sauvé has been outspoken on homelessness issues and the housing crisis, bringing forward motions to adopt emergency measures and increase funding for community organizations. As a representative of the Sud-Ouest borough, he supported the Maison Benoît-Labre's supervised consumption site, which may have to move locations following provincial intervention requiring such sites sites to be at least 150 metres away from schools and daycares. Sauvé was first ran with Valérie Plante's Projet Montreal and was re-elected in his Sud-Ouest riding as an independent in the 2021 municipal election. He left the party following a sexual assault allegation, which the party deemed to be unfounded.
