Montreal City Council Explained

Montreal City Council
Native Name:	Conseil municipal de Montréal (French)
Coa Res:	150px
House Type:	Unicameral
Leader1 Type:	Mayor
Members:	64 councillors and mayor
Seats1 Title:	Projet Montréal
Seats2 Title:	Ensemble Montréal
Seats3 Title:	Équipe LaSalle
Seats4 Title:	Équipe Anjou
Seats5 Title:	Independent
Structure1:	Montreal City Council diagram.svg
Structure1 Res:	250px
Voting System1:	First-past-the-post
Last Election1:	7 November 2021
Website:	ville.montreal.qc.ca

The Montreal City Council (French: Conseil municipal de Montréal) is the governing body in the mayor–council government in the city of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the city council. The council is a democratically elected institution and is the final decision-making authority in the city, although much power is centralized in the executive committee. The council consists of 65 members from all boroughs of the city.^[1] The council has jurisdiction over many matters, including public security, agreements with other governments, subsidy programs, the environment, urban planning, and a three-year capital expenditure program. The city council is also required to supervise, standardize or approve certain decisions made by the borough councils.

City Hall

• Shed near Pointe à Callière 1642 – as town hall
• Château Maisonneuve ??
• Palais de l'Intendance 1698–1713?
• Château Ramezay 1760–1774
• Maison Beaujeu (320 Notre Dame)
• Bonsecours Market – home to city hall and council from 1852 to 1878
• Old Montreal Courthouse (now Édifice Lucien-Saulnier) 1922–1926, 2019–present
• Montreal City Hall – 1878–1922; 1926–2019 (closed for renovations until 2022)

Committees

Reporting directly to the city council, the executive committee exercises decision-making powers similar to that of the cabinet in a parliamentary system and is responsible for preparing various documents including budgets and by-laws, submitted to the city council for approval. The decision-making powers of the executive committee cover, in particular, the awarding of contracts or grants, the management of human and financial resources, supplies and buildings. It may also be assigned further powers by the city council.

Standing committees are the council's prime instruments for public consultation. They are responsible for the public study of pending matters and for making the appropriate recommendations to the council. They also review the annual budget forecasts for departments under their jurisdiction. A public notice of meeting is published in both French and English daily newspapers at least seven days before each meeting. All meetings include a public question period. The standing committees, of which there are seven, have terms lasting two years. In addition, the city council may decide to create special committees at any time. Each standing committee is made up of seven to nine members, including a chairman and a vice-chairman. The members are all elected municipal officers, with the exception of a representative of the government of Quebec on the public security committee.

Composition

The current city council consists of the mayor and 64 elected city councillors, including borough mayors. Unlike most Canadian cities, the city of Montreal has political parties; however, these are not chapters of any federal or provincial political parties, but are standalone entities at the municipal level.

Each borough is divided into between two and five districts, and has a different system of representation depending on its population. Each borough also has a five-member borough council, consisting of the borough mayor, any city councillors, and in certain boroughs additional borough councillors, as follows:

Borough	Representation on city council	Additional representation on borough council
Ahuntsic-Cartierville	Borough mayor and city councillors for 4 districts	None
Anjou	Borough mayor and 1 city councillor	Borough councillors for 3 districts
Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce	Borough mayor and city councillors for 5 districts	None
L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève	Borough mayor only	Borough councillors for 4 districts
Lachine	Borough mayor and 1 city councillor	Borough councillors for 3 districts
LaSalle	Borough mayor and city councillors for 2 districts	Each district elects 2 borough councillors
Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve	Borough mayor and city councillors for 4 districts	None
Montréal-Nord	Borough mayor and city councillors for 2 districts	Each district elects 1 borough councillor
Outremont	Borough mayor only	Borough councillors for 4 districts
Pierrefonds-Roxboro	Borough mayor and city councillors for 2 districts	Each district elects 1 borough councillor
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal	Borough mayor and city councillors for 3 districts	Each district elects 1 borough councillor
Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles	Borough mayor and city councillors for 3 districts	Each district elects 1 borough councillor
Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie	Borough mayor and city councillors for 4 districts	None
Saint-Laurent	Borough mayor and city councillors for 2 districts	Each district elects 1 borough councillor
Saint-Léonard	Borough mayor and city councillors for 2 districts	Each district elects 1 borough councillor
Le Sud-Ouest	Borough mayor and city councillors for 2 districts	Each district elects 1 borough councillor
Verdun	Borough mayor and city councillors for 2 districts	Each district elects 2 borough councillors
Ville-Marie	Mayor of Montreal (ex officio borough mayor) and city councillors for 3 districts	2 city councillors from other boroughs named by the Mayor
Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension	Borough mayor and city councillors for 4 districts	None

Party standings

The most recent election was the 2021 Montreal municipal election,^[2] in which Valérie Plante's Projet Montréal won 37 out of 65 available seats.

Party standings
	Party	Leader	Seats as of 5 November 2017 election	Seats as of 7 November 2021 election	Current seats
	Projet Montréal	Valérie Plante
	Ensemble Montréal	Aref Salem
	Équipe LaSalle Team	Nancy Blanchet
	Équipe Anjou	Luis Miranda
	Independent		0	0

Changes since 5 November 2017 election

• 20 November 2017: Jean-François Parenteau, borough mayor of Verdun, leaves Équipe Denis Coderre to sit as an independent, upon taking a position on the executive council.^[3]
• 11 January 2018: Équipe Denis Coderre takes on the name Ensemble Montréal.^[4]
• 26 April 2018: Hadrien Parizeau, city councillor for the district of Saint-Sulpice, is expelled from Ensemble Montréal and sits as an independent.^[5]
• 3 August 2018: Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough mayor Giuliana Fumagalli is expelled from Projet Montréal and sits as an independent.^[6]
• 17 August 2018: Renée-Chantal Belinga, borough councillor for the district of Ovide-Clermont, leaves Ensemble Montréal and sits as an independent.
• 1 October 2018: Chantal Rouleau, borough mayor of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles, and Frantz Benjamin, city councillor for the district of Saint-Michel, leave the city council upon being elected to the National Assembly of Quebec.^[7]
• 12 October 2018: Giovanni Rapanà, city councillor for the district of Rivière-des-Prairies, leaves Ensemble Montréal to sit as an independent.^[8]
• 20 October 2018: Marie-Josée Parent, city councillor for the district of Champlain–L'Île-des-Sœurs, leaves Ensemble Montréal to join Projet Montréal.^[9]
• 16 December 2018: In two by-elections, Caroline Bourgeois of Projet Montréal is elected borough mayor of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles, and Josué Corvil of Ensemble Montréal is elected city councillor for Saint-Michel.^[10]
• 11 January 2019: Marvin Rotrand, city councillor for Snowdon, the only member of Coalition Montréal on the council, announces that he will sit as an independent.^[11]
• 27 March 2019: Lynne Shand, borough councillor for the district of Anjou West, is expelled from Équipe Anjou and sits as an independent.
• 9 April 2019: Cathy Wong, speaker of the city council and city councillor for the district of Peter-McGill, leaves Ensemble Montréal and sits as an independent.^[12]
• 14 May 2019: Luc Ferrandez, borough mayor of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, resigns.^[13]
• 3 October 2019: Cathy Wong, speaker of the city council and city councillor for the district of Peter-McGill, sitting as an independent, joins Projet Montréal.^[14]
• 7 October 2019: Luc Rabouin of Projet Montréal is elected in a by-election to serve as borough mayor of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, succeeding Luc Ferrandez.^[15]
• 21 October 2019: Patricia Lattanzio, city councillor for the district of Saint-Léonard-Est, leave the city council upon being elected to the House of Commons of Canada.
• 24 January 2020: Sue Montgomery, borough mayor of Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, is expelled from the Projet Montréal caucus after refusing to fire a member of her staff that had been accused of psychological harassment. She sits as an independent.^[16]
• 23 October 2020: Julie-Pascale Provost, borough councillor for the district of Du Canal, is expelled from Projet Montréal and sits as an independent.
• 9 December 2020: Christian Arseneault, city councillor for the district of Loyola, leaves Projet Montréal and sits as an independent.
• 17 December 2020: Christine Gosselin, city councillor for the district of Vieux-Rosemont, leaves Projet Montréal and sits as an independent.
• 26 January 2021: Giuliana Fumagalli, borough mayor for the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension, sitting as an independent, creates a new party, Quartiers Montréal.
• 11 March 2021: Sue Montgomery, borough mayor of Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, sitting as an independent, creates a new party, Courage - Équipe Sue Montgomery.^[17]
• 17 March 2021: Jean-Marc Corbeil, borough councillor for the district of Robert-Bourassa, is expelled from Ensemble Montréal and sits as an independent.
• 21 April 2021: Hadrien Parizeau, city councillor for the district of Saint-Sulpice, sitting as an independent, joins back Ensemble Montréal.
• 4 June 2021: Julie-Pascale Provost, borough councillor for the district of Du Canal, sitting as an independent, joins Ensemble Montréal.
• 16 June 2021: Marvin Rotrand, city councillor for the district of Snowdon, sitting as an independent, joins Ensemble Montréal.
• 18 June 2021: Giovanni Rapanà, city councillor for the district of Rivière-des-Prairies, sitting as an independent, joins back Ensemble Montréal.
• 13 July 2021: Véronique Tremblay, borough councillor for the district of Champlain–L'Île-des-Sœurs, leaves Ensemble Montréal to join Projet Montréal.
• 16 August 2021: Christian Arseneault, city councillor for the district of Loyola, announces his resignation.^[18]

Changes since 7 November 2021 election

• 7 November 2021: Even though he was elected under the Projet Montréal label, Craig Sauvé announced he would sit as independent.^[19]
• 10 February 2022: Serge Sasseville, city councillor for the district of Peter-McGill, leaves Ensemble Montréal to sit as an independent.^[20]

Current members

Borough	Position	Party	Name	Location
Ville-Marie	Mayor of Montreal	PM	PlanteValérie Plante	C
Ahuntsic-Cartierville	Borough mayor	PM	ThuillierÉmilie Thuillier	NW
Ahuntsic-Cartierville	Councillor, Ahuntsic	PM	GouletNathalie Goulet	NW
Ahuntsic-Cartierville	Councillor, Bordeaux-Cartierville	EM	GiannouEffie Giannou	NW
Ahuntsic-Cartierville	Councillor, Saint-Sulpice	PM	RoyJulie Roy	NW
Ahuntsic-Cartierville	Councillor, Sault-au-Récollet	PM	NormandJérôme Normand	NW
Anjou	Borough mayor	EA	MirandaLuis Miranda	NE
Anjou	Councillor	EA	HenaultAndrée Hénault	NE
Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce	Borough mayor	PM	KatahwaGracia Kasoki Katahwa	C
Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce	Councillor, Côte-des-Neiges	PM	PopeanuMagda Popeanu	C
Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce	Councillor, Darlington	EM	ValenzuelaStephanie Valenzuela	C
Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce	Councillor, Loyola	PM	SouriasDespina Sourias	C
Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce	Councillor, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce	PM	McQueenPeter McQueen	C
Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce	Councillor, Snowdon	EM	MorozSonny Moroz	C
L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève	Borough mayor	EM	CoteDoug Hurley	NW
Lachine	Borough mayor	PM	VodanovicMaja Vodanovic	S
Lachine	Councillor	PM	GrondinVicki Grondin	S
LaSalle	Borough mayor	EL	BlanchetNancy Blanchet	S
LaSalle	Councillor, Cecil-P.-Newman	EL	PalestiniLaura Palestini	S
LaSalle	Councillor, Sault-Saint-Louis	EL	DeschampsRichard Deschamps	S
Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve	Borough mayor	PM	LessardPierre Lessard-Blais	E
Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve	Councillor, Hochelaga	PM	CaldwellÉric Alan Caldwell	E
Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve	Councillor, Louis-Riel	EM	ZunigaAlba Zuniga Ramos	E
Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve	Councillor, Maisonneuve–Longue-Pointe	PM	HassanAlia Hassan-Cournol	E
Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve	Councillor, Tétreaultville	EM	Henault-RatelleJulien Hénault-Ratelle	E
Montréal-Nord	Borough mayor	EM	BlackChristine Black	NE
Montréal-Nord	Councillor, Marie-Clarac	EM	SariAbdelhaq Sari	NE
Montréal-Nord	Councillor, Ovide-Clermont	EM	RossiChantal Rossi	NE
Outremont	Borough mayor	EM	DesboisLaurent Desbois	C
Pierrefonds-Roxboro	Borough mayor	EM	BeisDimitrios Jim Beis	NW
Pierrefonds-Roxboro	Councillor, Bois-de-Liesse	EM	LangevinBenoit Langevin	NW
Pierrefonds-Roxboro	Councillor, Cap-Saint-Jacques	EM	Clement-TalbotCatherine Clément-Talbot	NW
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal	Borough mayor	PM	RabouinLuc Rabouin	C
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal	Councillor, De Lorimier	PM	GiguereMarianne Giguère	C
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal	Councillor, Jeanne-Mance	PM	NorrisAlex Norris	C
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal	Councillor, Mile-End	PM	PlourdeMarie Plourde	C
Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles	Borough mayor	PM	BourgeoisCaroline Bourgeois	NE
Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles	Councillor, La Pointe-aux-Prairies	PM	ChristensenLisa Christensen	NE
Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles	Councillor, Pointe-aux-Trembles	PM	JourneauVirginie Journeau	NE
Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles	Councillor, Rivière-des-Prairies	EM	RapanaGiovanni Rapanà	NE
Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie	Borough mayor	PM	LimogesFrançois Limoges	E
Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie	Councillor, Etienne-DesmarteauCouncillor, Étienne-Desmarteau	PM	AlneusEricka Alneus	E
Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie	Councillor, Marie-Victorin	PM	PauzeJocelyn Pauzé	E
Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie	Councillor, Saint-Édouard	PM	BlancoJosefina Blanco	E
Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie	Councillor, Vieux-Rosemont	PM	OllivierDominique Ollivier	E
Saint-Laurent	Borough mayor	EM	DeSousaAlan DeSousa	NW
Saint-Laurent	Councillor, Côte-de-Liesse	EM	NazarianVana Nazarian	NW
Saint-Laurent	Councillor, Norman-McLaren	EM	SalemAref Salem	NW
Saint-Léonard	Borough mayor	EM	BissonnetMichel Bissonnet	NE
Saint-Léonard	Councillor, Saint-Léonard-Est	EM	GentileAngela Gentile	NE
Saint-Léonard	Councillor, Saint-Léonard-Ouest	EM	PerriDominic Perri	NE
Le Sud-Ouest	Borough mayor	PM	DoraisBenoit Dorais	S
Le Sud-Ouest	Councillor, Saint-Henri-Est–Petite-Bourgogne– Pointe-Saint-Charles–Griffintown	Ind.	SauveCraig Sauvé	S
Le Sud-Ouest	Councillor, Saint-Paul–Émard–Saint-Henri-Ouest	PM	VaillancourtAlain Vaillancourt	S
Verdun	Borough mayor	PM	MaugerMarie-Andrée Mauger	S
Verdun	Councillor, Champlain–L'Île-des-Sœurs	PM	TremblayVéronique Tremblay	S
Verdun	Councillor, Desmarchais-Crawford	PM	DowneySterling Downey	S
Ville-Marie	Councillor, Peter-McGill	Ind.	SassevilleSerge Sasseville	C
Ville-Marie	Councillor, Saint-Jacques	PM	BeaudryRobert Beaudry	C
Ville-Marie	Councillor, Sainte-Marie	PM	MauzerolleSophie Mauzerolle	C
Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension	Borough mayor	PM	LavigneLaurence Lavigne Lalonde	E
Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension	Councillor, François-Perrault	PM	OuelletSylvain Ouellet	E
Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension	Councillor, Parc-Extension	EM	DerosMary Deros	E
Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension	Councillor, Saint-Michel	EM	CorvilJosué Corvil	E
Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension	Councillor, Villeray	PM	MusauMartine Musau Muele	E

See the members of the Montreal Executive Committee

External links

• List of city and borough councillors. Ville de Montréal.

Notes and References

1. Web site: City Council. City Hall. Ville de Montréal. 17 March 2012.
2. Web site: Candidates for city councillor positions . 11 November 2013 . dead . https://archive.today/20131111045307/http://www.resultats-election-montreal.ca/conseil-de-ville.en.html . 11 November 2013 .
3. News: Normandin. Pierre-André. Montréal: trois élus d'expérience à des postes-clés au comité exécutif. 20 November 2017. La Presse. 20 November 2017.
4. Web site: L'Opposition officielle se nomme désormais « Ensemble Montréal » . Cision . 7 October 2019 . 11 January 2018.
5. News: Hadrien Parizeau expulsé d'Ensemble Montréal . 7 October 2019 . Radio-Canada . 26 April 2018.
6. News: La mairesse de Villeray exclue de Projet Montréal pour « comportement inapproprié » . 7 October 2019 . Radio-Canada . 3 August 2018.
7. Web site: Municipal by-elections on December 16 . Élection Montréal . 7 October 2019 . 18 October 2018.
8. News: Nabbad . Youti . RDP-PAT : Giovanni Rapanà quitte Ensemble Montréal . 7 October 2019 . Métro Montréal . 12 October 2018.
9. News: Marie-Josée Parent rejoint l'administration Plante . 7 October 2019 . Radio-Canada . 20 August 2018.
10. Web site: Official results of the by-election held on December 16, 2018 . Élection Montréal . 7 October 2019 . 16 December 2018.
11. News: Normandin . Pierre-André . Coalition Montréal compte fermer boutique . 7 October 2019 . La Presse . 12 January 2019.
12. News: Cathy Wong, 1st woman named Speaker of Montreal's city council, will sit as independent . 7 October 2019 . Global News . 9 April 2019.
13. News: Gosselin . Janie . Luc Ferrandez annonce son départ de la vie politique . 7 October 2019 . 14 May 2019.
14. News: Champagne . Sara . Cathy Wong rejoint Projet Montréal . 7 October 2019 . La Presse . 2 October 2019.
15. News: Ruel-Manseau . Audrey . Luc Rabouin succède à Luc Ferrandez . 7 October 2019 . La Presse . 7 October 2019.
16. News: Bruemmer . Rene . C.D.N.—N.D.G. Mayor Sue Montgomery turfed from Projet Montréal caucus . 26 January 2020 . Montreal Gazette . 24 January 2020.
17. News: N.D.G.-C.D.N. borough mayor Sue Montgomery launches political party: Courage . 17 August 2021 . Montreal Gazette . 11 March 2021 . en-CA.
18. News: Loyola councillor Christian Arseneault resigns, citing health issues . 17 August 2021 . Montreal Gazette . 16 August 2021 . en-CA.
19. Web site: Craig Sauvé withdraws from Projet Montréal caucus amid abuse allegation. 10 February 2022. montrealgazette. en-CA.
20. Web site: City councillor Serge Sasseville leaves Ensemble Montréal to sit as independent. 10 February 2022. montrealgazette. en-CA.