Claude Villeneuve runs for mayor, wants city ‘that’s easier to live in’

Claude Villeneuve runs for mayor, wants city ‘that’s easier to live in’

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

There are officially three candidates in the race for mayor of Quebec City. Claude Villeneuve, leader of the Québec d’Abord official Opposition party, confirmed he is running, after earlier suggesting he might pass for family reasons.

Villeneuve, 42, made the announcement Jan. 22 at the party’s offices in the Saint-Sauveur district, in the company of Québec d’Abord’s six elected councillors.

Mayor Bruno Marchand, head of Quebec Forte et Fière, and Transition Québec and Limoilou district councillor Jackie Smith have stated they plan to run again for mayor.

Villeneuve, the first-term councillor for the Maizerets-Lairet district, said in remarks to reporters, “I am taking another step forward, because I think we can do more. The citizens of Quebec want new leadership for our city. A mayor who unites, rather than divides. Who understands that leading a city means reconciling interests, rather than imposing one’s own preferences.”

Villeneuve, the father of two young girls with his wife Catherine Gauthier, said, “It’s been my dream to be mayor,” but he needed the blessing of his family to take the plunge.

Asked, in English, what he told his wife to get her support, Villeneuve said, “I love my wife, and I think that she loves me too. She loves me better when I have great projects than when I’m at home and angry,” adding jokingly, “Maybe she just wants me out of the house.”

He said both he and his wife are passionate about politics.  “I think I am a better man, a better father and will be a bet- ter mayor with her by my side.”

Villeneuve took a shot at another potential mayoral rival, former Quebec Liberal cabinet minister Sam Hamad, who has publicly said he is considering running. “I don’t want to become mayor because I’m bored in retirement and I’m looking for a project to keep me unbored.”

Villeneuve made a plea for “a city that’s easier to live in,” asking, “Why are bike paths cleared of snow better than streets or sidewalks? Why is it so difficult to get swimming lessons for children? Why is it so long and especially so complex to obtain a permit to change a door?”

Originally from Métabetchouan in the Lac-Saint-Jean region, Villeneuve was a speechwriter for Parti Québécois premier Pauline Marois. He came to Quebec City in 2004 to study law and economics. He has been a political commentator in various media outlets in the city and been involved in community organizations and businesses in Limoilou.

He won his municipal seat handily in 2021, in a district held by former mayor Régis Labeaume’s party. When the party’s mayoral candidate, Marie-Josée Savard, lost the race to Marchand by a handful of votes, the party’s 10 elected councillors chose Villeneuve to be leader of the Opposition at City Hall.

Three of the party’s coun- cillors subsequently joined Marchand’s party, which had elected seven councillors.

Villeneuve said he plans to have a running mate for his council seat, so that in the event he loses the race for mayor, he would still have a seat on council, assuming the  party wins the district.

As for the tramway project, which has dominated municipal politics for years, Villeneuve, who supports the venture, said he doesn’t expect it will become a big issue in the election campaign, which officially begins in September with the vote on Nov. 2.

Claude Villeneuve runs for mayor, wants city ‘that’s easier to live in’ Read More »