Former Liberal minister, Louis-Hébert MNA Sam Hamad mulls mayoral bid
Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
peterblack@qctonline.com
Speculation is mounting about a possible mayoral bid by former Liberal minister and MNA for Louis-Hébert Sam Hamad.
Hamad’s former cabinet colleague Nathalie Normandeau said recently on the radio show she hosts that he had privately made the decision to run against incumbent Bruno Marchand; Hamad himself, however, said he is still weighing the pros and cons of the move.
In an interview with the QCT, Hamad, 66, said with the municipal election campaign more than a year away, he is taking the time to consult with people and examine his options.
“I’m still thinking about it,” he said. “I’ve been [approached] by many people, but it’s too early to make a decision.”
Hamad, who was elected five consecutive times as MNA for Louis-Hébert, starting in 2003, said he is enjoying a happy private life. He left politics in 2017 following his resignation from cabinet the previous year in the wake of allegations of inappropriate dealings with a party fundraiser. Quebec’s ethics commissioner did not sanction Hamad in the affair.
Prior to his resignation, Hamad, a former head of the Quebec Order of Engineers, served in several senior portfolios, including transport and Treasury Board. He was also minister responsible for the capital region and claims some credit for pushing ahead with the Promenade Samuel-De Champlain project.
Hamad wouldn’t say whether he intends to run for mayor as leader of an existing party at City Hall. According to several media reports, Hamad has had informal talks with members of opposition parties.
A spokesperson for Équipe Priorité Québec, which has two councillors and an unelected leader, told Le Devoir Hamad met with party representatives last October at their request. Since then, according to the report, “Discussions have continued in a ‘jovial and friendly manner.’”
As for Québec d’Abord, the official Opposition party at City Hall and the successor to for- mer mayor Régis Labeaume’s party, leader Claude Villeneuve has made it known he may decline to run for mayor next year, for family reasons.
Québec D’Abord Coun. Alicia Despins, while not offering specifics, said, “We’re still working on offering a viable option to our citizens in November 2025.” The party has seven councillors, following several defections to the ruling Québec Forte et Fière party.
Hamad said what is motivating him to consider a run for mayor “is what he sees as the lack of leadership” and vision at City Hall and the state of the city. “My heart is saying business is not going well, the economy is not going well. There’s a bad atmosphere between the government and municipalities. These factors push me to go for it.”
As for the city’s biggest- ever infrastructure project, the tramway system, Hamad declined to say whether he supports the most recent configuration proposed by the Caisse de dépôt et placement Infra and approved by the Quebec government.
“There is a lot of missing data, so I can’t judge it. How much is it going to cost citizens? Nobody knows that.”
In the event he does run, Hamad says he’d bring a new style. “We should come back to the basics of managing the city for the good of the citizens. Citizens pay a lot of taxes, and when the economy is going badly, the impact on citizens is very significant.”
Earlier this year, when rumours circulated that Hamad was interested in the mayoralty, Marchand said, “I hope Sam Hamad will run. You can’t have a better demonstration of what the city was and what the city can be between two politicians. So, let him come. We’ll have a great campaign.”
Municipal elections take place across Quebec on Nov. 2, 2025.