Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce incumbent mayor Sue Montgomery released her election platform under her new party “Courage” on Wednesday.
Montgomery says the region’s population of 175,000 residents would be better served by splitting Montreal’s largest borough.
“This isn’t just something that we just dreamed up one day,” says Montgomery. “It really comes up after a lot of consultations with people and knocking on doors and listening to people what they have to say,” Montgomery added.
“Even just the efficiency of snow clearing, garbage pick-up, recycling. All of those things could be better managed if it was smaller, if it was broken up into two.”
But other mayoral candidates say the mere mention of splitting up the borough is disappointing. Ensemble Montreal’s mayoral candidate Lionel Perez says the focus should be on the citizens.
“Everything else is really a distraction,” says Perez. “Cleaner parks, better sidewalks, more money Côte-des-Neiges–NDG for a fairer distribution of the funding,” he added.
Both Projet Montréal and new party Mouvement Montréal are running two newcomers to the political game. Both say they will offer a fresh perspective but splitting up the borough is not an option.
“We want to reinvigorate, revitalize that neighborhood,” says Mouvement Montreal’s mayoral candidate Matthew Kerr.
‘We need to instill funding for community organizations, mentorship programs, affordable sports programs in the borough. Now is not the time to abandon Côte-des-Neiges.”
Projet Montreal’s mayoral candidate Gracia Kasoki Katahwa says the diversity between CDN-NDG should be celebrated.
“Having two public administrations is just more fees at a moment where we need more money for important elements like social housing and affordable housing,” says Katahwa.
Sue Montgomery did not say whether she would prefer to be the mayor of Côte-des-Neiges–NDG or how the two boroughs would be divided, but it would be something her party would begin to discuss if elected.