Canadian municipal elections 2009

[Hatman 🍁]

This will be the one stop shop for municipal elections in Canada this year.

Today, Newfoundland and Labrador goes to the polls. The Yukon goes to the polls on October 15, Saskatchewan on the 28th and Quebec on November 1st. The Quebec municipal elections will be the most interesting, especially in Montreal. Separatist wing nut Louise Harel is currently leading the polls against the incumbent mayor. Also notable will be the Gatineau City Council race in the Hull-Val Tetreau Ward where noted NDPer Pierre Ducasse is hoping to win a seat

[Hash]

Notes on Quebec:

Montreal: Louise Harel is the new face of 'Vision Montreal', Pierre Bourque's old outfit. The incumbent is Gérald Tremblay. There's been a number of scandals in Montreal, most involving shady dealings between the city council and various mafia-led organizations, the most famous one being a contract dealing with water counters and stuff. Tremblay always looks like an idiot since he claims he had 'no knowledge of it'. People seem to be tired of his corruption, and Harel is more appealing that Bourque. Other candidates include the environmentalist Richard Bergeron of Projet Montreal who got 9% in 2005 and Louise O'Sullivan, a 2006 CPC candidate from Westmount. What's funny is that the race is now almost a PLQ (Tremblay, and also Bissonnet in Saint-Léonard) vs. PQ (Harel and Ménard in Hochelaga). I think Tremblay will lose.

Quebec City: Boring race. The incumbent Mayor Régis Labeaume is actually sane (a rarity in Quebec City) and competent (another rarity) and he's wildly popular and he did very well with the recent 250eme festivities and so forth. He wins in a landslide.

Laval: I would be shocked if Gilles Vaillancourt didn't run and win again. Although he does seem to have more serious opposition in 2009 than in 2005, where his main opponent was like a 19-year old college girl who ran for the sake of it. Though the opposition is split and seems to hate each other lol.

Gatineau: There's this opposition guy, Zampino, he looks like a Sicilian mafioso. And that's all I know since I can't physically force myself to listen to the local news.

[Hash]

Oh, and I hope Jean Tremblay in Saguenay wins again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdErqHlPw3A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVu2hru9dqU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxJ0z_tDf2Y&feature=related

The guy's a real buffoon.

[Hatman 🍁]

There's an NDPer running for Vision Montreal. Is it safe to assume that they're now the left wing party?

[Linus Van Pelt]

There's an NDPer running for Vision Montreal. Is it safe to assume that they're now the left wing party?

The Montreal parties are kind of weird since they basically come from the controversy over municipal mergers which didn't exactly map onto either economic policy or the national question. Union Montreal was the suburban anti-merger party and so kind of was more anglo and right-of-centre and Vision Montreal was more from the old city of Montreal and so kind of more on the left and francophone, but it doesn't seem exact to me. The real progressives, though, are Projet Montreal, especially on the environment/urban planning/transit.

Of course MaxQue and Hashemite are welcome to correct any misunderstanding I have since they're more familiar with the situation.

[Hatman 🍁]

Lots of close races on the rock!

In Clarenville, mayor Fred Best won by less than 70 votes
In Corner Brook, the mayor lost by 75 votes.
In Paradise the mayor lost by just 3 votes!
In Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, the mayor lost by 10 votes.

[Hatman 🍁]

In St. John's, mayor Dennis O'Keefe was re-elected with 57% of the vote. He won last year in a municipal by-election after controversial mayor Andy Wells resigned.

Former acting mayor of St. John's and PC MLA Shannie Duff was elected as Deputy Mayor.

[Hatman 🍁]

A couple of places reported over 90% turnout. In Point Lance, 90 of 98 eligible voters voted. There was a 94% turnout in Long Harbour & Mount Arlington Heights.

Also, Bay L'Argent elected an all woman council!

[Hash]

There's an NDPer running for Vision Montreal. Is it safe to assume that they're now the left wing party?

Municipal parties aren't real parties in that they obviously don't take positions on social issues and don't take much positions on economic issues. I see Union Montreal as the kind-of municipal PLQ (if only due to Tremblay and Bissonnet) and today's Vision Montreal as the kind-of municipal PQ (if only due to Harel and Menard). I think it's safe to assume that Vision Montreal won't win areas like Saint-Leonard and Montreal-Nord even if they voted against demerging.

On a side note, Harel doesn't speak English. I'm sure the West Island municipalities will just love urban community meetings rofl.

[Hatman 🍁]

She speaks English, but not very well. She said she wasn't comfortable with an English debate. I find this humourous considering she may well be the next mayor of Montreal.

[Linus Van Pelt]

Angus Reid/La Presse poll this week

total
Harel 40
Tremblay 35
Bergeron 20
O'Sullivan 3

Franco
Harel 54
Tremblay 27
Bergeron 15
O'Sullivan 1

Anglo
Tremblay 55
Bergeron 30
O'Sullivan 7
Harel 6

others
Tremblay 41
Bergeron 33
Harel 17
O'Sullivan 6

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I remember the name Harel from somewhere - was she a member of the National Assembly or summet?

[Linus Van Pelt]

I remember the name Harel from somewhere - was she a member of the National Assembly or summet?

Yes, and not only that but she was interim PQ leader between Bernard Landry's resigning and André Boisclair taking over.

[MaxQue]

I remember the name Harel from somewhere - was she a member of the National Assembly or summet?

Yes, she was a minister and the Speaker of the National Assembly, too.

Hashemite, that was the 400eme festivities, not 250eme.

[Hatman 🍁]

Not just any PQuiste, but a wingnut as well. Though, she is trying to moderate herself. LOL btw @ her anglo numbers.

[Hash]

She speaks English, but not very well. She said she wasn't comfortable with an English debate. I find this humourous considering she may well be the next mayor of Montreal.

I think all of the hardcore Anglo municipalities demerged, though, rendering that point of lesser important. Montreal City circa 2003, that would have been a huge issue and it would have doomed here.

And I have clue why the hell I said 250eme instead of 400eme. What the hell, Hashemite?

[Hatman 🍁]

Still lots of Anglo pockets in Montreal, though.

[Hash]

Still lots of Anglo pockets in Montreal, though.

Immigrant allophone areas are much more important than Anglo areas in the current city.

[mileslunn]

Still lots of Anglo pockets in Montreal, though.

Immigrant allophone areas are much more important than Anglo areas in the current city.

Probably true in terms of demographics, although I think the Anglophones tend to have a high turnout, in many ways probably higher than Francophones whereas turnout amongst Allophones is typically lower.  If the whole Island of Montreal was one municipality, they would have a bigger influence as a lot of the Western municipalities are heavily Anglophone.

[Linus Van Pelt]

Just a little note re the poll and the last few posts, the question the poll asked was "language spoken at home", so lots of people of Italian, Greek etc. ancestry who grew up in Montreal will come up as "Anglo", with only the actual immigrants coming up as "other".

[Hash]

Probably true in terms of demographics, although I think the Anglophones tend to have a high turnout, in many ways probably higher than Francophones whereas turnout amongst Allophones is typically lower.

Still, my point is that Anglophones aren't a major demographic or voter base in the current municipality.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

That is quite obvious. And part of my point.

Just a little note re the poll and the last few posts, the question the poll asked was "language spoken at home", so lots of people of Italian, Greek etc. ancestry who grew up in Montreal will come up as "Anglo", with only the actual immigrants coming up as "other".

Yeah, a lot of Italians/Greeks/Portuguese often tend to speak more often in English than French.

[Hatman 🍁]

Montreal was lucky to de-amalgamate and have the politically contentious leave the city. Ottawa should be so lucky.

[Linus Van Pelt]

Montreal was lucky to de-amalgamate and have the politically contentious leave the city. Ottawa should be so lucky.

Some of them took the de-amalgamation a little too literally!

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2008/06/10/qc-lachineroadblock0610.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Extension#Fence_with_Mont-Royal_.28TMR.29_along_L.27Acadie

[Hatman 🍁]

Montreal was lucky to de-amalgamate and have the politically contentious leave the city. Ottawa should be so lucky.

Some of them took the de-amalgamation a little too literally!

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2008/06/10/qc-lachineroadblock0610.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Extension#Fence_with_Mont-Royal_.28TMR.29_along_L.27Acadie

Maybe there should be a wall around the inner greenbelt to keep the suburbanites out of Ottawa

[MaxQue]

Not just any PQuiste, but a wingnut as well. Though, she is trying to moderate herself. LOL btw @ her anglo numbers.

Louise Harel is not a wingnut and I ready to fight to the death to say that!