Quebec’s Metropolis

Leadership for the metropolitan region

Montreal is first and foremost the core of its region. This metropolitan region is an organic whole: the center needs the peripheries, and the peripheries need the center. No stands to win alone. The mayor of Montreal is also the president of the Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC) and must embody this role with real leadership, so that everyone goes in the same direction. Thus, we wish to :

• Include all cities in the Census Metropolitan Area in the MMC, to solidify the city’s actions and make them coherent on a larger scale; 
• Update the Metropolitan Land Use and Development Plan (PMAD) in order to:
  • Combat urban sprawl
  • Declare a climate emergency, protect the environment and fight climate change, including the promotion of densification, transportation electrification and greening
• Create an ambitious mobility plan for the Census Metropolitan Area to reduce the use of solo cars. This includes creating an efficient transportation mix, including improved public transit service and the use of self-service vehicles, carpooling or river shuttles; 
• Collaborate to establish a uniform inclusionary policy for social housing throughout the cities of the metropolitan community in order to progressively arrive at an obligation to create 15% of social housing in major projects throughout the MMC;
• Develop the reflex to work with all stakeholders (citizens, community and non-profit organizations, private businesses, other levels of government) on the various projects and issues of the city.

Montreal’s role as a Quebec metropolis

As we have said, Montreal is the French-speaking metropolis of America, but it is also, and above all, Quebec’s metropolis, as indicated in article 1 of its Charter. But this title of metropolis must not only be embodied as a designation by convention; it must be materialized in concrete terms and serve virtuously for the progress of both the metropolis and Quebec. In this spirit, we wish to :

• Ensure that the Réflexe Montréal framework agreement is respected in Quebec policies and that the City of Montreal is involved in the issues that affect it, particularly housing and the retention of head offices. This agreement, signed in 2016 by the former administration, gives the City a special status as a metropolis, which allows it to exercise greater power in matters of housing, homelessness, immigration and culture, among others;
• Getting our fair share of funding for housing and social programs from senior governments; 
• Capitalize on the benefits (economic, tourism, cultural, etc.) of being the francophone metropolis of America;
• Create more links with the regions, notably by using the Maison des régions to its full potential;
• Create a committee bringing together both the City of Montreal and the Government of Quebec to focus on reducing CO2 production on the island of Montreal, knowing that our objectives are the same and that our actions must be concerted. Finding solutions to climate change is a shared responsibility. 
• Ask for the creation of a new federal fund to allow large cities to accelerate the fight against climate change and its impacts on increasing inequalities: greening, fight against heat islands, protection against spring floods, residual materials, reduction of GHG. 

For a metropolis that shines internationally

The role of a metropolis is not limited to developing relations with its Quebec and Canadian partners. The City of Montreal is a metropolis of international calibre, which gives it the inevitable role of showcase for Quebec and offers it enormous potential for cultural and economic development. International organizations and festivals are among the aspects that allow us to promote ourselves. 

Montreal is also a student city, it must work with its partners to attract international students, but also to retain them while providing an attractive living environment.

This is why Ensemble Montréal will work to :

• In partnership with Tourisme Montréal, Montréal International, the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, the business development corporations and the Palais des congrès, increase the presence of international organizations and events in Montréal, notably by submitting a bid to host the International Downtown Association conference; 
• Work in collaboration with Tourisme Montréal, Montréal International, the chambers  of commerce and Investissement Québec to attract specialized workers and foreign investments to Montréal and to foster the creation of economic ecosystems; 
• Assume Montréal’s role as a catalyst for Québec’s economy, in collaboration with economic partners such as Investissement Québec, the chambers of commerce and Montréal International, notably through the use of economic missions abroad, but also by welcoming foreign delegations to our territory in order to showcase the strength of our ecosystems (educational institutions, incubators, businesses, sector-related services, etc.)
• Enhance Montréal’s international role through urban diplomacy, by continuing to expand our city’s political network, in particular by joining municipal alliances, such as the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance, to exchange best practices in carrying out the city’s mandates, such as adapting to climate change or living together;
• Become a partner of Aéroports de Montréal, to increase the number of air connections between Montréal and other cities in the world;
• Use the levers of the City of Montreal to support Montreal International in promoting Montreal as a student city and work with them to retain international students; 
• Implement a financial incentive for international students to stay in Montreal and Quebec after their studies;
• Reintroduce the passeport MTL international student, which was discontinued in 2019, to help international students discover Montreal’s institutions and culture;