By Ruby Pratka
Local journalism Initiative
Former Mont-Soleil Councillor and former deputy mayor Tatiana Contreras succeeded Louis Villeneuve as mayor of the city on May 12, becoming the second woman and the first person of colour to lead the town of 12,000 people.
Louis Villeneuve, mayor of the municipality since 2017, stepped down earlier this spring to run for Parliament; on April 28, he was elected MP for Brome-Missisquoi. With less than a year to go before the next municipal election – scheduled for Nov. 2 – the municipality had the option of scheduling a byelection or of having city councillors hold an internal vote to choose a mayor among themselves. Councillors chose the latter option, and Contreras was acclaimed mayor after previous acting mayor and Pierre-Laporte Councillor Nicolas Robillard decided not to throw his hat in the ring.
“It is with humility and in full collaboration with the city council that I accept this responsibility. Our shared goal is to ensure stability and to continue, together, to represent the Bromont community with sincerity and legitimacy. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Nicolas Robillard, who has led this transition with conviction,” said Contreras in the city’s official announcement.
“Given that I do not currently wish to run for mayor in November, contrary to Tatiana Contreras’ clear intentions, it seemed only right to give her ample opportunity to take over the mayoralty and flourish as mayor. My priority remains to contribute to the development of our city, in harmony with the people of the Pierre-Laporte district and my current commitments,” Robillard said.
Contreras is an entrepreneur who moved to Bromont in 2015 and fell in love with the town for its community spirit. She was first elected in 2021 and served two years as deputy mayor, which she said prepared her for serving as mayor and gave her a deeper understanding of key issues.
“I wanted to run because I thought it was the thing to do, to start working on the things I wanted to do,” Contreras told the BCN in a brief interview. “I’d like to ensure continuity and stability for our teams and for the citizens, and stick to the game plan that we started….to ensure a smooth transition.” She said Villeneuve left “big shoes to fill,” adding that the municipality was “lucky to have an MP who knows our local issues as well as he does.”
“The things that I have at heart are optimizing the citizen experience, preserving nature, keeping nature accessible and ensuring connectivity between neighbourhoods, and active transport is part of that vision,” Contreras said, adding that heritage preservation was also among her priorities. Responding to an opinion piece in La Voix de l’Est from a Bromont resident concerned about short, confrontational question periods at the town council, Contreras said she “had heard those concerns” and was open to suggestions.
“We’ve all heard those concerns and we can only improve; our goal is to address people’s worries,” she said.
Contreras added that her partner is anglophone, her children attend English school and she lives in a bilingual household. She said constituents are welcome to come to her with questions or concerns in English. “I don’t always know the technical terms …but people can talk to me in English, no problem.”