Published January 29, 2024

Peter Black

Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s condemnation of the mayors of Montreal and Quebec City as “incompetent” in promoting housing development appears to have been prompted in part by a tour of a Quebec City construction site with a prominent developer.

Poilievre sparked an uproar last week with an attack on Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante and Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand in a Jan. 18 message on X (formerly Twitter).

The Conservative leader decried a “massive drop in construction in Quebec, while [Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau pays billions to incompetent mayors, Marchand and Plante, who block construction sites. Federal money for cities will be linked to the number of houses and apartments built when I am PM.”

On Jan. 16, Poilievre posted on X several pictures of himself touring the construction site on the Place Fleur de Lys shopping centre property in Vanier.

The text says, “The family business Trudel Construction is building 3,500 housing units in the heart of Quebec City by repurposing a former shopping centre. It’s time to break down bureaucratic barriers so innovative builders like William [Trudel] and his team can build more affordable housing.”

Poilievre’s Quebec lieutenant and Charlesbourg–Haute-Saint-Charles MP Pierre Paul-Hus reposted the X message the same day. Paul-Hus’s constituency office had not replied by press time to a QCT request for comment on his leader’s “incompetent” attack.

The Trudel Alliance project does not involve “repurposing” the shopping centre, but rather building housing units, a hotel and other structures around the upgraded mall.

The Quebec government agency, Investissement Québec, has contributed $43 million in a repayable loan to the developers, on the condition the project provides a certain level of social housing. The plan calls for 15 per cent “affordable” units and 250 social housing units.

On Jan. 19, William Trudel was making headlines by denouncing government delays as an obstacle to building projects. In a Radio-Canada report, Trudel said it’s taken more than five years to begin construction on the first phase of the Fleur de Lys development, a 480-unit housing project.
Trudel said the city’s regulatory framework is too cumbersome, especially when a project requires a zoning change to move forward.

“It will take political and administrative leadership in Quebec City to shorten deadlines and make decisions more quickly.… The development model in Quebec currently is not sustainable,” Trudel said.

Whatever prompted Poilievre’s attack on Plante and Marchand, reaction was harsh and swift from many political players, particularly the primary targets.

Marchand responded initially on X, saying, “Poilievre’s ‘common sense’ is to insult the elected representatives of Quebec. Frankly, this is not only contempt for elected officials, but for all those who work on housing issues in our city. This is petty politics. Quebec does not deserve this contempt.”

Marchand later added in a media scrum, “For a man who wants to be prime minister, to act like this … is not at all common sense. Common sense is to respect people.”

Plante, meanwhile, responded to Poilievre, offering a lesson in how Ottawa-Quebec relations work. The Conservative leader, she said on X, does not understand “that in Quebec, federal funding for housing does not go through the cities. Common sense is also to understand the financing mechanisms specific to each province.”

Trudeau, in Nunavut for a land transfer ceremony, told reporters Poilievre’s comments showed “condescension” to Quebec’s political leaders and an “ignorance for how things work between the federal government and the provinces.”

It was not the first time Poilievre has used the word “incompetent” to describe Quebec politicians.

In September, while in Quebec City for a party convention, the Conservative leader, referring to the rising cost of the city’s tramway project, said, “The federal government should not pay for cost overruns. Zero. It’s not my money; this money belongs to the taxpayers and I’m not going to continue throwing billions of dollars into projects poorly managed by incompetent politicians.”

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William Trudel (left) gives Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre a tour of the Place Fleur de Lys construction site.

Photo from Pierre Poilievre via X

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