Rise Again; Compact Disc; Primary Artist - Marc Coderre
Squad Denis Coderre sets its sights on Montreal mayoralty
Quondam Liberal chiffonier minister Denis Coderre plans a run for the Montreal mayoralty. His resignation will open the mode for a fierce 3-manner fight over his Montreal riding, which is coveted by both the NDP and Bloc Quebecois.
It has been a while since anything resembling new life emerged in Montreal municipal politics. With the resignation terminal November of Gérald Tremblay later nine years every bit mayor, the ethical questions dogging his successor Michael Applebaum, the implosion of the quondam ruling party, Marriage Montreal, and the litany of outrages revealed at the Charbonneau committee hearings, information technology has felt more similar an unending winter.
On Thursday, Liberal MP Denis Coderre hopes to change that.
Mr. Coderre, who has represented Montreal'south Bourassa riding for 16 years, is set to announce he is leaving federal politics to run for mayor in next November'southward election. The declaration will prepare the scene for 2 crucial battles: ane to choose the city's next mayor and the other to exam Liberal back up in Quebec under new leader Justin Trudeau.
Mr. Coderre, 49, will enter the mayoral race as the favorite, if only considering of the relative weakness of his two declared rivals. Louise Harel'south past every bit a cabinet minister in separatist Parti Québécois governments is a significant handicap in a city where about half the population is non-francophone. Her Vision Montreal party is saddled with serious debt and has non escaped beingness tainted by testimony earlier the Charbonneau committee investigating abuse.
Richard Bergeron'southward young Projet Montréal party has made inroads in sure neighbourhoods, but Mr. Bergeron has even so to develop the broad appeal needed to exist elected mayor of a city of 1.six-1000000 people. And despite Projet Montréal's status at urban center hall as the one party untouched by corruption allegations, a Léger Marketing poll last November gave Mr. Coderre a large lead over Mr. Bergeron as the candidate best equipped to combat corruption.
Mr. Coderre volition no doubt come out of the blocks strongly. He has been mulling a run for mayor for more a year and has been assembling a team blending elements from the federal Liberals and local leaders, in particular in his base of Montreal North. He has applied to Quebec'south master electoral officer to register the proper noun Équipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal. He has displayed a knack for social media, amassing more than 100,000 followers to his Twitter feed, where his love Montreal Canadiens boss the conversation, at least until they were knocked out of the playoffs.
But while he has undeniable name recognition and a knack for retail politics, detractors question whether he is equipped to rescue a city in crisis.
He has not won over the city's business concern institution, equally evidenced in a contempo campaign past the Montreal Board of Trade, which drafted a Aid Wanted discover to detect Montreal a candidate for mayor "who can restore its standing among the world'south bang-up cities." In improver to being fluently bilingual, "the successful candidate must accept unfailing determination, integrity, leadership and management skills," the discover said.
The campaign is a tacit knock on the three known candidates, but it is also a recognition that the business community's efforts to recruit a white knight accept then far failed. With less than half dozen months to get before the Nov. three vote, the chances are slim that a star candidate could come out of nowhere and build the organization needed to win.
While he has undeniable proper noun recognition and a knack for retail politics, detractors question whether Coderre is equipped to rescue a city in crisis.
Mr. Coderre'due south divergence from Parliament, where he was a minister nether Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, should produce an intense battle in the multi-cultural riding of Bourassa. After losing the riding to the Bloc by 53 votes in 1993, Mr. Coderre won it comfortably for the Liberals in six straight elections, beginning in 1997. In 2011, he was one of seven Liberals in Quebec to resist the orange NDP tide that captured 59 ridings in the province.
Just Mr. Coderre has worked intensely to cultivate support in the riding, and his replacement will not have an easy time. In what will exist the first Quebec by-ballot since the concluding general ballot, the NDP volition exist eager to show its 2011 sweep was not a fluke and that its Quebec success can continue under new leader Thomas Mulcair. The governing Conservatives take never been a cistron in the riding, but the Bloc Québécois will look to the vote for signs of life later being reduced to four seats in 2011. Still, new Bloc leader Daniel Paillé has already declared that he will not seek to enter Parliament through Bourassa, a sign that the odds of a Bloc victory are long.
A by-election must exist held within 180 days of a federal seat being declared vacant, and then as "Team Denis Coderre" tries to accept city hall, Messrs Mulcair and Trudeau volition exist contesting for bragging rights in their native province. I style or another, the political seasons are about to turn in Montreal.
National Mail service
• Email: ghamilton@nationalpost.com | Twitter: grayhamilton
Source: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/coderre-breathes-new-life-into-montreal-politics
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