Plante launches run, calling Coderre `man of the past'
Projet Montréal Leader Valérie Plante officially kicked off her mayoral campaign Friday in the shadow of the Clock Tower at the Old Port, targeting her main adversary and old foe. She claimed a vote for Denis Coderre would represent a choice for moving backward rather than progress.
“The return of Mr. Coderre has truly crystallized the choices for Montrealers when they go to vote on Nov. 7,” said Plante, surrounded by more than a dozen of her councillor candidates on the shore of the St. Lawrence. “Either you can advance with Projet Montréal, or you can go backwards with Denis Coderre. It’s as simple as that.”
The municipal election campaign officially started at 12:01 a.m. Friday.
Residents in 1,100 municipalities — including Montreal — will be called to the polls in November to choose their city, borough and town councils.
Plante, a former city councillor who engineered a narrow surprise victory over Coderre in 2017, marking the first time in 57 years an incumbent was not re-elected mayor of Montreal, opened with a resumé of her party’s accomplishments over the last four years. She cited the city’s handling of the pandemic, the addition of 300 buses to Montreal’s public transit fleet and a 50-per-cent reduction in transit fares for seniors.
She claimed the city has moved toward creating 12,000 new affordable housing units and has invested heavily in tamping down the rise in gun violence.
But much of her time was spent attacking Coderre, who has been vocal in his criticism of Plante’s tenure. She characterized him as a lifetime politician whose vision for the city has grown dated and whose platform lacks new ideas.
“It’s several times now that we have seen him manipulate the facts and change his ideas depending on who he is speaking to,” Plante said.
“We will be clear: Denis Coderre is a man of the past who is running once again without a vision or a plan.”
Plante did not present any new platform ideas Friday, saying she planned to do so as the campaign progresses.
Responding to criticism that construction continues to impede motorists throughout Montreal, Plante said her party recognized the issue and ordered construction projects be scaled back 30 per cent over the summer.
At a scrum following the deposit of his official candidacy at city hall Friday, Coderre said he wasn’t interested in running a campaign that involved badmouthing other candidates, and that Montreal’s security issues are his main priority.
“I don’t think Montrealers like this kind of politics of calling other people names,” Coderre said. “I will talk about the issues. The fact is (Projet Montréal) are overwhelmed by the current situation. They don’t believe in police. They don’t believe in safety. They don’t want to mix with this issue, but it’s a fact.”