In the local elections held in Quebec on November 2nd, Soraya Martinez Ferrada was elected mayor of Montreal, the largest city in the province. Having fled Chile at the age of eight, she became the first Latin American mayor of the city.
Former Mayor Valérie Plante, who served two terms for eight years, had indicated she would not run for a third term. Luc Labouin, leader of the ProJet Montreal Party, who succeeded Plante as Mayor, came in second.
Martinez-Ferrada will resign from his federal seat in February 2025 to run for leader of Ensemble Montreal, the former municipal party led by former Mayor Denis Coderre. During his time as a federal MP, he also served as Minister of Tourism in the Justin Trudeau government.
Canada’s second-largest city has a new mayor, but many problems remain. A strike by maintenance workers at the STM public transportation system has been ongoing since November 1st. STM Metro (subway) and bus services are currently limited, and if labour negotiations are not concluded, the strike will continue until November 28th. In addition, the labour unions for bus drivers and Metro operation managers have announced that they will go on strike for two days, on November 15th and 16th.
Martinez Ferrada met with both the STM and the union on the 5th and told them to conclude negotiations within 10 days.
Montreal also faces other problems that the previous mayor was unable to resolve, such as housing and road conditions.
Montreal is a sister city of Hiroshima, and a commemorative ceremony is held every year on August 5th (August 6th Japan time) in the Japanese garden of the Montreal Botanical Garden. Former Mayor Correde was proactive in strengthening ties with Japan, so expectations are high for Martinez-Ferrada as well.