Ensemble Montréal mayoralty candidate leads first congress

Martin C. Barry, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ensemble Montréal mayoralty candidate Soraya Martinez Ferrada was feeling nostalgic during the party’s first congress under her leadership.

As a student, the 53-year-old former federal Liberal cabinet minister and city councillor confided while addressing 300 supporters on June 1 at the Montreal Science Center in Old Montreal, she worked summers at the Old Port, where she emptied trash bins and sanitized washrooms.

A special homecoming

“To be back here as a candidate for the mayoralty is quite an exciting homecoming,” she acknowledged.

Originally from Chile, Martinez Ferrada served as the city councillor for the district of Saint-Michel from 2005 to 2009 when she was defeated.

A hardworking political organizer and insider, she remained active behind the scenes, first as a political attaché for the federal Liberals in Ottawa. She then succeeded in winning the east-end Montreal riding of Hochelaga in 2019 in a close election that saw the Liberals capturing the seat for the first time since 1988.

As an MP, she served as a parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, then served beginning in 2023 in the Trudeau cabinet as Minister of Tourism and Minister for the Economic Development Agency of Canada Quebec Region.

Willing to listen

“Listening is a form of respect,” she said at one point in her address, setting the tone for the type of administration she might hope to oversee if she prevails in the municipal elections taking place on November 2.

With that thought in mind, Martinez Ferrada used the City of Montreal’s 3-1-1 phone central access number for municipal services as an example of how communication between residents and the city appears to have broken down.

“Who here has ever called 3-1-1?” she asked, precipitaing a murmur of derisive laughter from the crowd. “Have you ever had a call returned? Communicating with this city has become an uphill battle. And this has to change.”

‘Right to a roof’

Martinez Ferrada suggested the party could be placing considerable emphasis on findings ways to resolve the city’s homelessness situation. “Everbody deserves and is entitled to have a roof over their head,” she said, echoing words used frequently by the former Trudeau Liberal government while addressing the same problem.

“Housing provides dignity, stability, security,” she continued. “Everybody has a right to a roof, because when a family is living in security, it allows children to dream and for everybody to rise and have autonomy. And so, yes, something must be done. But more quickly and more intelligently.”

In a statement of pre-campaign policy positions issued by Ensemble Montréal, the party is pledging to establish a register of abandoned and dangerous buildings in Montreal during their first 100 days in office.

As well, they would take additional measures that would allow young families to purchase a first home more easily so they wouldn’t find themselves forced to move to the suburbs.

Improving with AI

Ensemble Montréal would also implement the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve municipal services, including faster delivery of construction and renovation permits to developers.

The Ensemble Montréal congress was also an opportunity for the party to unveil its new logo. According to a press release from the party, the graphic visually represents their principal ambition, “to make Montreal a clean, secure, affordable and efficient city.”

“This change of image reflects who we are: a team that is deeply rooted in Montreal, listening to citizens, and representative of the richness and diversity of our metropolis,” Martinez Ferrada commented on the logo, noting that the multicolor design is also meant to reflect Montreal’s multicultural diversity.