Christine Black’s win over Will Prosper shows a division in North Montreal

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For the second time in a row, Denis Coderre lost his candidacy for mayor of Montreal, while his mayoral candidate for Montreal North and all his councilors sailed to an easy victory.

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In 2017, Christine Black ran under Équipe Denis Coderre, defeating then-Projet Montréal candidate Balarama Holness. The result was a beating, with Black taking the mayoralty of the municipality by 33 percentage points.

This time, Projet Montréal dedicated significant resources to helping its star candidate, community activist Will Prosper, turn the tide. However, the gap was almost identical, with Black leading by 34 points.

The result points to Coderre’s lasting control over the municipality, where he served for 19 years as a deputy for Bourassa.

“Montreal North is very loyal to Mr. Coderre,” said Danielle Pilette, associate professor in UQAM’s department of strategy, social and environmental responsibility. She believes that the population of the district is highly divided.

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“It is a municipality where there are many residences for the elderly, who tend to vote more for Coderre; and there are younger people from cultural communities, but we see that (Mayor Valérie) Plante has more problems reaching cultural communities. It was very difficult for Projet Montréal to retain Côte-des-Neiges – NDG, where it will surely go to a recount. We see a reluctance from cultural communities that do not feel fully included in the city of Montreal ”.

Black did nothing out of the ordinary, according to Pilette. The former youth center director was simply on the right team at the right time.

“Christine Black represents the strength of civil society, not a personal strength,” said Pilette. “This was a vote of confidence by the residents of Montreal North towards their community institutions, rather than towards the personality of Mr. Prosper.”

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Come Monday afternoon, Prosper was disappointed but philosophical about his loss in the culturally diverse district where he grew up.

“I know, many people have told me that we had the best campaign in all aspects, in all of Montreal,” he said, mentioning his team of more than 200 volunteers. “That said, there are many other problems in North Montreal. People have been excluded from participating in politics for decades. There is an educational (voting) process. “

Plante made appearances in Montreal North to support his candidate, but so did Coderre for his.

“I saw Coderre as much as Black,” Prosper said. “She was running her campaign through Denis Coderre. He lobbied very hard and was campaigning for fear in the population, saying that we would not be good to the police, that they were the best (for public safety). “

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The most revealing moment of the campaign, according to Prosper, was Black’s withdrawal from a debate at the end of October organized by the Table de quartier Montréal-Nord. Prosper faced the Montreal Movement candidate, Carl-Henry Jean-François, while Black’s seat remained empty.

“When you think about everything we presented,” he said, “they voted for someone who left an empty chair.”

Black turned down an interview request from the Montreal Gazette on Monday.

Arriving in the middle of the afternoon, after his third place in the Montreal mayoral race, Holness was not surprised at how things turned out for Prosper.

“I knew that he was not going to get more votes than I did in 2017, because the voters who support him do not vote,” said the leader of the Montreal Movement, which obtained 6,038 votes in 2017, compared to 11,864 of blacks; Prosper got 4,807 votes on Sunday, compared to 10,607 for Black.

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“Christine Black could sit at home the entire election, skip a debate and win due to political forces and the fact that she is a Denis Coderre stronghold,” Holness said.

“It is no secret why Denis Coderre put his (co-candidate, Chantal Rossi) in Montreal North. It’s your safest district. “

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Montreal North Preliminary Election Results

Mayor of the municipality

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City Councilor, Marie-Clarac

Councilor of the municipality, Marie-Clarac

City Councilor, Ovide-Clermont

Township Councilor, Ovide-Clermont

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