“A Montreal for all Montrealers”: Denis Coderre declares run for Mayor

Former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre made it official tonight on Radio-Canada’s “Tout le monde en parle” talk show that he will run for Mayor against Valerie Plante in November. Rumours had been rife for weeks since La Presse obtained Coderre’s then unpublished book “Retrouver Montréal.” In it the former Mayor outlined a wide range of reforms he wants to see for Montreal.

He made his declaration directly answering a question saying “Yes, I will be a candidate for the Mayoralty. I want to be assured that we have a Montreal for all Montrealers. In light of what is going on, I think Montreal deserves better.”

Denis Coderre served as Mayor from 2013-2017 and will rejoin his former party that he established and that is now the official opposition at City Hall Ensemble Montréal.

Coderre’s plans include expanding the orange and yellow metro lines as well as public transit parallel to the REM. He has called the Plante administrations pedestrianization plans “rigid and dogmatic” and has pointed to the pushback against the current mayor various borough councils. He is also committed to the city acting effectively on what he terms the “real and disturbing problems of racial profiling.”

In promoting the book Coderre said, “We feel that we have lost some magic. We feel that Montreal today is not for all Montrealers.”