Clock ticking on embattled Montreal mayor’s tenure
MONTREAL — Montreal’s mayor has abruptly cancelled two public events, including what was to have been a major speech outlining his economic legacy, while his embattled administration is rocked by a corruption crisis.
The reason for the speech cancellation? According to an event organizer, it was because Mayor Gerald Tremblay feared his message would have been ignored.
The cancellations appeared unlikely to dissuade critics who accused Tremblay of no longer being morally capable of running the city.
They occurred with the clock ticking down to a crucial deadline: If the mayor quits before Nov. 3, one year ahead of the next municipal election, an early vote for the mayoralty will be held. If he quits afterward, according to provincial law, he can be replaced by city council without an election.
The repercussions of that deadline could be felt far outside the city. In Ottawa, Liberal MP Denis Coderre hinted strongly Wednesday that he planned to leave federal politics to run for mayor. He said he would remain in Ottawa for a few more months.
Events in Montreal, however, were moving quickly.
The mayor was a sudden noshow at a planned news conference on culture Wednesday. And he announced that he would not deliver a speech Friday on his legacy, which some had interpreted as his potential swan song after a decade in office.
“I spoke to Mr. Tremblay this morning. He called to tell me he preferred to cancel Friday’s event,” said organizer Michel Leblanc, the president of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.
“The reality is that he thinks people aren’t listening to his economic message. That’s what he told me.”
The cancellations occurred one day after a witness testified at Quebec’s public inquiry that Tremblay not only knew about illegal fundraising within his political party — but actually ignored it.
The mayor’s spokeswoman said that the two cancellations were unrelated.