Valérie Plante (born June 14, 1974) is a Canadian politician serving as the
45th and current
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
since 2017.
["Valérie Plante elected mayor of Montreal, beating out Denis Coderre"](_blank)
CBC News
CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca ...
, November 5, 2017. First elected to
Montreal City Council
The Montreal City Council (french: Conseil municipal de Montréal) is the governing body in the mayor–council government in the city of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in th ...
in the
2013 election, she has served as leader of the
Projet Montréal party since December 2016.
Plante was Projet Montréal's candidate for mayor in the
2017 municipal election, and was elected
Mayor of Montreal on November 5, 2017. She is the first woman to be elected mayor of Montreal, having been preceded only by councillor
Jane Cowell-Poitras
Jane Cowell-Poitras (born 1953) is a Canadian politician. She was an elected member of Montreal City Council from 2001 until 2013 and had served as councillor of Lachine from 1988 until its amalgamation with Montreal in 2001. Her portfolio includ ...
's two brief stints as acting mayor following mayoral resignations in the early 2010s and by the ceremonial appointment of
Lise Payette as mayor of the city for one day to mark the
International Women's Year
International Women's Year (IWY) was the name given to 1975 by the United Nations. Since that year March 8 has been celebrated as International Women's Day, and the United Nations Decade for Women, from 1976 to 1985, was also established.
His ...
in 1976.
Early life and education
Plante was born in
Rouyn-Noranda
Rouyn-Noranda ( 2021 population 42,313) is a city on Osisko Lake in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, Canada.
The city of Rouyn-Noranda is a coextensive with a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and census d ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
, on June 14, 1974.
She spent a year in
North Bay,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
as a teenager to learn English.
["Voici 10 choses à savoir sur Valérie Plante, la première mairesse de Montréal"]
''Le Journal de Montréal
''Le Journal de Montréal'' is a daily French-language tabloid newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Quebec and is also the largest French-language daily newspaper in North America. Es ...
'', November 5, 2017. In 1994, she moved to Montreal to attend university, receiving a degree in
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
in 1997,
and another in
museology
Museology or museum studies is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and education.
Terminology
The w ...
in 2001.
[ She then worked for a number of non-profit organizations, most notably as communications director of the Girls Action Foundation – Fondation Filles d'Action.][
In the 1990s, she worked as a tour guide at ]Vimy Ridge
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...
in France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
Political career
City councillor
In the 2013 Montreal municipal election
Municipal elections were held in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada on November 3, 2013 as part of the 2013 Quebec municipal elections. Voters elected 65 positions on the Montreal City Council, including the mayor, borough mayors, and city ...
, Plante was elected councillor for the Sainte-Marie district of the Ville-Marie borough, defeating former provincial minister and 2009 Montreal mayoral candidate Louise Harel
Louise Harel (born April 22, 1946) is a Quebec politician. In 2005 she served as interim leader of the Parti Québécois following the resignation of Bernard Landry. She was also interim leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of Que ...
. She was named opposition critic for downtown, tourism, and for women's affairs. She was also named vice-president of city council, as well as substitute mayor for Ville-Marie.
In the fall of 2016, Plante announced her run for the leadership of Projet Montréal. She went on to win the leadership election with 51.9%, defeating Guillaume Lavoie Guillaume may refer to:
People
* Guillaume (given name), the French equivalent of William
* Guillaume (surname)
Other uses
* Guillaume (crater)
See also
* '' Chanson de Guillaume'', an 11th or 12th century poem
* Guillaume affair, a Cold War ...
.
2017 mayoral campaign
Valérie Plante was elected Mayor of Montreal on November 5, 2017, becoming the first woman to be elected in this position. Few had predicted that Plante would be able to take down the incumbent mayor, Denis Coderre
Denis Coderre (born July 25, 1963) is a Canadian politician from Quebec. Coderre was the member of Parliament for the riding of Bourassa from 1997 until 2013, and was the Immigration minister from 2002 to 2003 and became the mayor of Mont ...
, a former Liberal MP and cabinet minister, at the beginning of the campaign. Plante won over voters on a promise to improve public transit, alleviate traffic woes and make the city more family friendly. On election day, Plante won 51 percent of the vote, compared to 46 percent for Coderre. Projet Montréal also won a majority of seats on the city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...
. One of Plante's key campaign planks in the 2017 municipal election was the creation of a " Pink Line", a new Montreal Metro
The Montreal Metro (french: Métro de Montréal) is a rubber-tired underground rapid transit system serving Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The metro, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), was inaugurated on October 14, ...
line to improve public transit service between downtown and on two axes to the boroughs of Montréal-Nord
Montreal North (french: Montréal-Nord) is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city of Montréal-Nord on Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. It was amalgamated into t ...
and Lachine. Her election posters were hung up around Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
to spread her mayoral ideas. Valérie Plante claimed that her posters were strategically placed in certain areas where she knew her ideas would easily be spread.
2021 mayoral campaign
Plante decisively won the November 7, 2021 against Coderre by a wider margin, taking 52 percent of the vote to his 37 percent. The majority of Project Montréal on council was also increased. Plante campaigned on adding 60,000 social housing units and continuing to focus on improving urban life.
Personal life
Plante has two children."Montréal élit sa première mairesse"
'' Métro'', November 6, 2017. She is married to Pierre-Antoine Harvey, an economist with the Centrale des syndicats du Québec.[
]
References
External links
Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montréal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plante, Valérie
Mayors of Montreal
Living people
Ville-Marie, Montreal
1974 births
21st-century Canadian politicians
21st-century Canadian women politicians
Women mayors of places in Quebec
Female Canadian political party leaders
People from Rouyn-Noranda
Université de Montréal alumni