The search for a new party leader came to an end Sunday for Montreal’s official opposition party, Projet Montréal.
Valérie Plante edged out Guillaume Lavoie for the win, garnering 51.9 per cent of the votes. Plante received a total of 998 votes versus 919 for Lavoie.
The party had been without a leader since its founder, Richard Bergeron, left to join incumbent mayor Denis Coderre’s executive team when he took office in 2013.
Projet Montreal took to twitter to thank interim leader Luc Ferrandez for leading the way and showing Montreal it deserves better.
After a leadership campaign that lasted from Sept. 5 to Dec. 4, the new leader has a tough task ahead of her to dethrone Coderre in next year’s municipal elections.
READ MORE: ‘We are the alternative to Denis Coderre’: Projet Montréal launches leadership race
According to an October Forum research poll conducted by the Montreal Gazette, Coderre still enjoys high approval ratings despite spending and breed-specific legislation controversies.
Projet Montréal is considered to be a party with a strong base in the inner-city with 25 seats on city council.
Plante will have to appeal outside of the party’s base and into the city’s suburbs if she hopes to overtake Équipe Denis Coderre which has 47 councillors.
Both Plante and Lavoie ran on similar platforms with emphasis being placed on transportation.
The main difference being Plante wanted to create a new metro line that would cost $6 billion, while Lavoie wanted to improve current services.