MONTREAL — Soraya Martinez Ferrada, a former federal Liberal minister, has taken the lead in Montreal’s mayoral election, as results roll in from municipal elections that took place Sunday across Quebec.
A victory for Martinez Ferrada, who leads the centrist party Ensemble Montréal, would represent a vote for change in Montreal, which has been led for the past eight years by the left-leaning Projet Montréal.
Outgoing mayor Valérie Plante announced last year she would not seek a third term after first being elected mayor in 2017. Her replacement at the helm of Projet Montréal, Luc Rabouin, has been trailing consistently since polls closed at 8 p.m. An hour later, roughly 17 per cent of polling stations had reported results.
By 9:15 p.m. Martinez Ferrada had 47 per cent of the vote, beating Rabouin by more than 11,000 ballots. Ensemble Montréal was leading in more than 35 of the 65 seats on Montreal’s municipal council, which includes the city mayor, 18 borough mayors and 46 city councillors. Projet Montréal was leading in less than 20 seats.
Heading into the election, Projet Montréal held 36 seats, including the mayor, while Ensemble Montréal held 21 seats.
Homelessness and housing affordability emerged as major themes during the campaign. Martinez Ferrada has given herself four years to end the homeless encampments that have cropped up across the island. Rabouin has said he would aim to end homelessness by 2030.
Martinez Ferrada has also taken aim at the new bike lanes that are a key feature of Plante’s legacy — and that have sparked backlash from some drivers. She has promised to launch an assessment of the city’s bike paths in her first 100 days in office, and has suggested that some may be removed. Rabouin is a fierce defender of the bike lanes.
However, voter turnout in the hours before polls closed suggests many Montrealers felt uninspired by a lacklustre campaign. As of 4 p.m., Élections Montréal estimated turnout in the city at 27 per cent. Montreal saw a voter turnout of 38 per cent in 2021 — down from 42 per cent in 2017.
Meanwhile, Radio-Canada has projected that incumbent mayor Bruno Marchand has been re-elected in Quebec City, easily defeating several challengers. He was first elected mayor in 2021. The broadcaster has also projected a victory for incumbent mayor Stéphane Boyer in Laval, Montreal’s largest suburb and the province’s third-largest city.
Another former federal Liberal minister, Marie-Claude Bibeau, has been elected mayor in Sherbrooke, in Quebec’s Eastern Townships region, according to Radio-Canada.
There are roughly 1,100 municipalities in Quebec, and just over half of municipal candidates in the province ran unopposed this year. More than 4,500 candidates, including 564 mayors, have been elected via acclamation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2025.
Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press
