The first questions a candidate should ask himself or herself before entering an election are the following: "Why am I here? What do I want to stand for?". In order to answer these questions, we had to determine the priorities and the vision to bring to the population.
Montreal is more than just a city, a sum of neighborhoods and boroughs. It is the heart of the metropolitan region, Quebec’s metropolis, a world-class metropolis. Ensemble Montréal knows that the full development of the city depends on its mayor's understanding of what makes the city vibrate. He must embody it, as well as his administration, in order to allow the city to use all the levers that are accessible to it in its role as the driving force of the entire Quebec region.
Ensemble Montréal is not just thinking about a short-term vision over four years; we are working for the next generations. Starting now, let's build the city we want in 25 years, for 2045. The realization of major projects, legacies for future generations, must begin in the next mandate. Some of these projects may take more than a decade to complete.
Montreal is facing a severe housing shortage that is driving up prices, affecting Montrealers' ability to afford housing and forcing our families to resign themselves to moving to the suburbs. In order to have an inclusive city and stop the urban exodus, there is only one solution: develop more housing for Montrealers, in Montreal.
In his book Retrouver Montréal, Denis Coderre emphasizes the notion of living together: "From the birth of our metropolis in 1642, Jeanne Mance and Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve had this unique desire to make our homeland a unifying place. Montreal's "vivre-ensemble" is the fine balance between vigilance and openness that must guide the City's actions. In the next four years, we must support the idea of a French-speaking metropolis, open to diversity and a defender of all those who make it what it is, including its youth and seniors. But we must also support the vigilance agenda, which has been left out, by being relentless with those who threaten the peace and security of residents.
As Montrealers, culture is central to our identity. It defines us, resembles us and brings us together. Culture is also an industry, a key sector of our economy. Culture has been a poor relation in Montreal in recent years, even before the arrival of the pandemic that has hit it even harder. A recovery plan for the metropolis must imperatively include a recovery plan for culture.
Mobility is the keystone that supports both our environmental and economic priorities. Most of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are related to transportation. It is therefore the duty of municipalities to implement initiatives to reduce the modal share of combustion vehicles.
The ecological transition, required by the global warming crisis, is no longer the business of a few: it is everyone's business and it is essential to bring people together rather than divide them into "good" and "bad", which only increases debate and delays decisions. With the will of Montrealers, the strength of our businesses, the know-how of our institutions and the management of a rigorous administration, Ensemble Montréal is convinced that we will achieve our GHG emission reduction objectives and, by doing so, protect the health and quality of life of all Montrealers.
Regardless of the administration at the head of the City of Montréal, it must always remember that it is in place to provide the best services for its citizens, not at the expense of its citizens. With this in mind, we propose in this section our vision of the relationship that the City should have with all its clients and citizens.
To improve the Montreal experience and the quality of life of its residents, the Ensemble Montréal team wants to make our city cleaner, safer, more beautiful, more accessible and more dynamic.
Two areas of Montreal deserve special attention because of specific issues: downtown, which must recover from the pandemic, and Montreal's East End, which has been unloved and marked by the departure of major industries.
