On October 2, one month before the municipal elections, the two frontrunners for Montreal mayor faced off in a debate organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM). In-person admission cost $90 and Zoom access cost $25. After fierce criticism online, the recording was finally made public the next day on YouTube. The North Star was on site to follow the exchange between Soraya Martinez Ferrada (Ensemble Montréal) and Luc Rabouin (Projet Montréal).
Before the event began, a demonstration for Palestine was taking place in front of the entrance. One of the activists explained to The North Star that their goal was to ensure that, amid all the municipal issues, the candidates did not ignore the genocide in the Middle East and the impact that the mayor can have at the municipal level of government.
For an hour, the tie-wearing members of the Chamber, which calls itself “the voice of the city's business community,” were able to network and exchange handshakes. Then the CCMM president opened the evening with a speech touting their “economic roadmap,” a list of recommendations that the lobbying organization is sending to mayoral candidates.
The big business lobbyists' roadmap
The document recommends, among other things, that the next administration:
- “partner more systematically with private developers [...] for the development of off-market housing.”
- replace the By-law for a Diverse Metropolis, which requires developers to include a certain percentage of social housing in each real estate project, with “policies adapted to market realities”;
- establish a “fast track” and a “priority track” for “projects of high strategic value”;
- “reduce the regulatory and bureaucratic burden” on the city; and
- “encourage municipal employees to return to the office.”
The debate
Despite a few jabs thrown at their opponent and the appearance of major disagreements between the two mayoral candidates, Rabouin and Martinez Ferrada often found themselves on the same page. While the leader of Ensemble Montréal stated that her platform was in line with the CCMM's roadmap on several points, her counterpart from Projet Montréal said that he had won the leadership “by talking about economic development and effective management.”
The issue of the housing crisis was addressed several times, particularly from the perspective of its impact on business in the city centre. Rabouin said, for example, that “What affects the business environment is the fact that there are people who don’t have housing [...] It makes people feel less comfortable going there, but especially working there.”
When the debate moderator asked the candidates if they would review regulations on Airbnb-type tourist rentals, the leader of Ensemble Montréal called for a relaxation of the rules to benefit the tourism industry. Martinez Ferrada was criticized by housing committees a few weeks ago for defending this type of rental and calling for their expansion.
Martinez Ferrada was also parliamentary secretary for housing under the Trudeau government and says she wants to be “the mayor of housing.” However, it was revealed that in 2023 she required her tenants in the Saint-Michel neighbourhood to pay a security deposit of $2,850, which is illegal.
Later in the debate, she promised to “flatten the administrative structure” of the city by cutting 1,000 civil service jobs. Finally, she said she wants to be “the best ambassador” for the members of the Chamber when it comes to “investments in aerospace, defence, and artificial intelligence.”
For his part, Rabouin promised a four-year hiring freeze for the city and repeatedly declared his allegiance to the “business community.” This contrasts his declaration last Wednesday that he did not want to run Montreal “for the elites.”