By Dan Laxer and Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban
Reaction from Montrealers was mixed, but perhaps with more weight on the celebratory side, when news broke last week that Mayor Valérie Plante would not seek reelection. “Despite all the love that I have for my work and for our city,” Plante said at a news conference announcing her decision, “I won’t be asking Montrealers for a third term as mayor.”
Plante is in the final stretch of her second of two terms, first taking office in 2017. She had previously said that she would seek a third term. So what changed her mind?
“Recently I came to realize that I couldn’t commit to another four years and guarantee Montrealers the same level of energy I’ve always given.” Last December Plante suddenly fell ill during a news conference, nearly passing out, an incident she chalked up to stress and exhaustion. But she said, last week, “I’m fine. I’m all good, and I will fully assume my duties as mayor until the end of my mandate.”
Earlier this year Plante received criticism for blocking comments on her X (formerly Twitter) account, as well as on the Projet Montréal account. She defended the decision by calling out the abuse she had been subjected to. “Some may think there’s a fundamental right to call a person an ‘idiot’ or a ‘bitch’,” she posted, “and to normalize violence online. I don’t think so.”
Her platform included improvements to public transit, including the creation of a “Pink Line” in the Métro system linking Montreal-North with Lachine. That never came to fruition. Those who say they’re happy to see her go rail against the city’s bicycle paths and construction woes amid near-constant construction, and profligate spending related to environmentalism. Those are ideals she says she carried into office, and that she remains committed to. She also said she will continue to work “for the adoption of one of the major legacies of my administration, the Montreal Urban Planning and Mobility Plan.”
Official Opposition leader Aref Salem wished the mayor well, saying “I would like to thank Valérie Plante for her commitment to the metropolis since her election, despite our many disagreements on construction site management, homelessness, public safety and the state of citizen services.” As for Ensemble Montréal, Salem said “on the eve of the November 2025 municipal elections, Ensemble Montréal is mobilized and ready to overcome the many challenges facing the metropolis.”
Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi, a longtime critic of Plante including on her response to anti-Israel protests that took place after Oct. 7, humorously reacted by sending The Suburban a digitally created video of Plante on a large screen announcing her decision and a large audience cheering wildly.
Côte St. Luc Mayor Mitchell Brownstein recently said at a CSL council meeting during a discussion on the long-awaited Cavendish extension that Montreal needs a new Mayor. He told The Suburban, “I wish Mayor Plante good health and happiness in her future endeavours. I hope that her successor will move the Cavendish extension forward and will ensure that our city is a safer place for all Montrealers setting a tone of respect and zero tolerance for hate speech.”
DDO Mayor Alex Bottausci said, “Plante being there for as long as she has may have been good for specific boroughs. But I don’t see anything she has done that has been beneficial to anyone in the West Island or Montreal except people on bicycles. I don’t see any economic movement in Montreal.”
Beaconsfield’s Mayor Georges Bourelle told The Suburban, ”I am not very happy with how the agglomeration operates. It was not her that created the agglomeration. However we have had many discussions on the agglomeration to change regulations and share of expenses that went nowhere. During her tenure, we have not seen very positive things with demerged municipalities. She did not create the situation with demerged cities but she certainly did nothing to improve it.” n