The race for mayor will soon be decided in Montreal, with polls closing at 8 p.m. on Sunday.
It’s been an incredibly tight race since the municipal election campaign kicked off in mid-September.
Projet Montréal’s Valérie Plante — the first woman ever to be elected mayor of Montreal — is striving to clinch a second mandate at city hall, while Ensemble Montréal’s Denis Coderre is hoping to make a comeback after losing to Plante in 2017. Newcomer Balarama Holness of Mouvement Montréal tried to position his party as a viable third option for the city promising a new way of doing things.
His campaign focused largely on a message of unity and defunding the police in favour of strengthening community organizations.
Coderre, for his part, promised to hire 250 more police officers to combat gun crime in the city. He also deplored how the city had become dirtier and more dangerous since he left office in 2017 and campaigned on maker it cleaner and safer again.
Meanwhile Plante’s objectives include adding more housing, fighting climate change and improving public security, to name a few of her priorities.
Plante and Coderre were locked in a dead heat for most of the campaign with Holness trailing in third forcing Plante, as the incumbent, to fend off numerous attacks from both Coderre and Holness.
With the finish line in sight this week, the tone of the campaign became more aggressive with both Coderre and Plante accusing each other of lacking transparency.
Plante accused Coderre of withholding his tax returns, while he accused her of not caring about sexual assault victims after it was revealed that city councillor Craig Sauvé was accused of sexual assault in 2012.
The case was dealt via mediation and was deemed closed. But when Plante was asked if she was aware of any allegations of that nature among her caucus, she denied it, hence the accusation.
Sauvé has since withdrawn from caucus and said if elected he will sit as an independent.
On Wednesday, Coderre finally released his financial records which showed he had been working as a consultant for a handful for private companies.
Those included Cogir, a large real estate company, a pro-car lobby group and a governing body for motor sports event.
While Plante has confirmed that she will stay on as the official opposition if she loses, Coderre has not said whether he would stay on to lead Ensemble Montréal.
For full election coverage tune in to Global News at 11 p.m. or find live results online here.
— With files from Global News’ Gloria Henriquez and Elizabeth Zogalis
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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