Balarama Holness’ Movement Montreal party loses two more candidates

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The Balarama Holness’ Movement Montreal party has lost two more candidates in the run-up to the municipal elections on November 6 and 7.

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Elections Montreal announced the withdrawal of Sylvain Medzalabenleth and Jean-Philippe Martin, both candidates for councilors in Mercier – Hochelaga – Maisonneuve, on Saturday morning.

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Both candidates were previously running for Marc-Antoine Desjardins’ Ralliement pour Montréal party, which merged with Movement Montreal on September 30, and Holness remains the party’s choice for mayor.

Desjardins, who was running for mayor of Montreal before the merger, announced Tuesday that he was withdrawing his candidacy for mayor of Outremont and “totally disassociating himself” from Holness and his comments on the language.

The two sides had very different positions on the issue: Desjardins had made the protection of the French language a key part of the Ralliement pour Montréal platform, and Holness is pushing for Montreal to be declared a bilingual city. In a meeting with the Montreal Gazette editorial board on Friday, Holness said it is still considered a viable option for Montréal residents who do not want to vote for Valérie Plante or Denis Coderre.