CAQ recruits Montreal borough mayor, hoping for island breakthrough
Chantal Rouleau's decision to join Coalition Avenir Québec billed as 'major coup' by party
Chantal Rouleau, re-elected as borough mayor of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles just four months ago, is making the jump to provincial politics, running for the Coalition Avenir Québec in this fall's election.
Rouleau announced Tuesday morning, with party Leader François Legault by her side, that she will run in the Pointe-aux-Trembles riding, in the heart of her borough in Montreal's east end.
Rouleau was one of the few members of Denis Coderre's party to be re-elected in November. She will stay on as borough mayor until Oct. 1, the scheduled day of the provincial election.
She told reporters Tuesday she has the support system in place that will allow her to both campaign and run the borough.
She said she isn't worried that people who elected her just over 100 days ago will be upset with her decision, adding that she believes she can achieve more for her constituents as an MNA.
"I did a good job, because the people voted for me and I am very involved in what I'm doing, I believe in what I'm doing, I know the issues on the territory and I want to work to find the real solutions," she said.
Major issues in the area, she said, include public transit — she said the Liberals have forgotten about the east end when it comes to transit.
"We have a star. Chantal Rouleau is a star in Montreal. She knows Montreal better than any [one] who can pretend to represent Pointe-aux-Trembles," he said.
First elected as borough mayor in 2010, she was formerly a member of Vision Montréal but she switched over to Coderre's team before the 2013 election.
She served as the executive committee member responsible for water infrastructure in the Coderre administration.
Ready for a fight
Recent polling data suggests Pointe-aux-Trembles is one of the CAQ's best chances to gain a much sought-after foothold in Montreal.
The CAQ is trying to pin-point ridings in Montreal where it can potentially make a break through on the island, where it has never won a seat. Today's is clearly targetting Pointe-aux-Trembles
—@ajmontgomeryVoters in Pointe-aux-Trembles have elected the Parti Québécois since the riding's creation in 1989.
Since the 2003 election, the PQ has garnered at least 50 per cent of the vote in the riding in every election.
He will face off against Maxime Laporte, president of the sovereignist group, the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, for the PQ nomination.
Last week, former premier Bernard Landry publicly endorsed Laporte's candidacy, saying he is "convinced of [Laporte's] abilities."
Laporte said Tuesday that he won't step aside, and intends to let PQ members choose who they want to represent the riding.