Parti des Montréalais
Encyclopedia
The Parti des Montréalais (English: Montrealers' Party) was a municipal political party in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
. It existed from 1993 to 1995 and won two council seats in the 1994 municipal election
.
launched the Parti des Montréalais after resigning from the Civic Party of Montreal
in October 1993. Choquette had been a candidate for the Civic Party leadership, but withdrew from the contest charging that it was skewed in favour of rival candidate Clement Bluteau. As the Parti des Montréalais's leader, Choquette was also its candidate for mayor in 1994.
Two other parties merged into the Parti des Montréalais before the 1994 election. Bluteau won the Civic Party leadership after Choquette's withdrawal but himself resigned the following year amid continued inter-party turmoil. Unable to find a successor, the remnants of the Civic Party merged into Choquette's organization in August 1994. The Parti des Montréalais also received outside support from veteran councillor Nick Auf der Maur
, who ran as an independent but supported Choquette's bid for the mayoralty.
Three sitting councillors, Pasquale Compierchio, Gérard Legault, and Fiorino Bianco
, joined the Parti des Montréalais in the buildup to the 1994 election.
and French
bilingual signs to encourage tourism and prevent anglophones from leaving the city. In May 1994, he proposed eliminating the unelected position of city manager on the grounds that the office was too powerful.
Choquette promised in June 1994 that he would support car ownership if elected as mayor. Describing the car as "a means for man to manifest his freedom," he said that Montrealers had heard too many warnings about air pollution, traffic congestion, and the advantages of alternative transportation. He promised to remove existing bicycle lanes from major streets, reduce parking fines, increase the number of downtown parking lots, permit on-street downtown parking on weekends and evenings, and eliminate some reserved bus routes that he believed would "hurt commercial activity and cause traffic problems." A subsequent Montreal Gazette editorial described Choquette's proposals as "madness" and argued they would "downgrade the quality of life in neighborhoods," while incumbent mayor Jean Doré
described Choquette's plan as "a philosophy of the '60s." Choquette responded with letter to the Gazette, in which he argued that he was not opposed in principle to bicycle lanes and would attempt to better integrate the city's automobile and bicycle traffic on "appropriate streets."
Choquette also promised to close Montreal's Miron quarry landfill and, as a short-term solution to the city's trash problems, ship its garbage to "outlying areas." He criticized the recommendations of a Montreal Urban Community
task force on this issue as overly focused on a "three R's" strategy of reduction, reuse, and recycling
.
In September 1994, Choquette promised to remove $600 million from Montreal's budget by cutting jobs and salaries, eliminating public consultation forums, and possibly adding toll booths to the island's bridges. At a subsequent press conference, he promised a 10 per cent pay cut for all councillors. On the latter occasion, he described himself as influenced by Ralph Klein's government in Alberta
.
While the Parti des Montréalais was generally regarded as right-wing, it included in its ranks some progressives such as Jeremy Searle. The party's platform included some progressive social measures, such as a proposal to allow low-income tenants to purchase their apartments as co-operatives.
, remarked at around this time that questionable financial strategies had doomed it from the beginning.
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It existed from 1993 to 1995 and won two council seats in the 1994 municipal election
Montreal municipal election, 1994
The 1994 Montreal municipal election took place on November 6, 1994. Pierre Bourque was elected to his first term as mayor, defeating incumbent Jean Doré...
.
Origins
Former provincial cabinet minister Jérôme ChoquetteJérôme Choquette
Jérôme Choquette is a lawyer and politician in Quebec, Canada.-Background:Choquette was born in Montreal, Quebec, and studied at the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Academy and Collège Stanislas in Montreal, a Roman Catholic private school and the most elite institution of its kind in Quebec...
launched the Parti des Montréalais after resigning from the Civic Party of Montreal
Civic Party of Montreal
The Civic Party of Montreal was a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It existed from 1960 to 1994. Throughout its history the Civic Party was dominated by the personality of its leader Jean Drapeau.-Origins:...
in October 1993. Choquette had been a candidate for the Civic Party leadership, but withdrew from the contest charging that it was skewed in favour of rival candidate Clement Bluteau. As the Parti des Montréalais's leader, Choquette was also its candidate for mayor in 1994.
Two other parties merged into the Parti des Montréalais before the 1994 election. Bluteau won the Civic Party leadership after Choquette's withdrawal but himself resigned the following year amid continued inter-party turmoil. Unable to find a successor, the remnants of the Civic Party merged into Choquette's organization in August 1994. The Parti des Montréalais also received outside support from veteran councillor Nick Auf der Maur
Nick Auf der Maur
Nick Auf der Maur was a journalist, politician and "man about town" boulevardier in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was also the father of rock musician Melissa Auf der Maur, through his marriage to Linda Gaboriau....
, who ran as an independent but supported Choquette's bid for the mayoralty.
Three sitting councillors, Pasquale Compierchio, Gérard Legault, and Fiorino Bianco
Fiorino Bianco
Fiorino Bianco is a politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He served on the Montreal city council from 1990 to 1994, initially as a member of mayor Jean Doré's Montreal Citizens' Movement and later for other parties....
, joined the Parti des Montréalais in the buildup to the 1994 election.
Ideology
When he launched the Parti des Montréalais, Choquette pledged to eliminate Montreal's non-residential surtax and replace it with a business tax. When the party announced its first nominated candiates for council in March 1994, the two most prominent figures were veterans of a local anti-tax campaign. Choquette also indicated that his party would encourage more EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
bilingual signs to encourage tourism and prevent anglophones from leaving the city. In May 1994, he proposed eliminating the unelected position of city manager on the grounds that the office was too powerful.
Choquette promised in June 1994 that he would support car ownership if elected as mayor. Describing the car as "a means for man to manifest his freedom," he said that Montrealers had heard too many warnings about air pollution, traffic congestion, and the advantages of alternative transportation. He promised to remove existing bicycle lanes from major streets, reduce parking fines, increase the number of downtown parking lots, permit on-street downtown parking on weekends and evenings, and eliminate some reserved bus routes that he believed would "hurt commercial activity and cause traffic problems." A subsequent Montreal Gazette editorial described Choquette's proposals as "madness" and argued they would "downgrade the quality of life in neighborhoods," while incumbent mayor Jean Doré
Jean Doré
Jean Doré is a Canadian politician and former mayor of the City of Montreal, Quebec.-Background:Jean Doré studied law at the Université de Montréal, where he was president of the student union from 1967 to 1968. He received a Master's Degree of Political Science from McGill University...
described Choquette's plan as "a philosophy of the '60s." Choquette responded with letter to the Gazette, in which he argued that he was not opposed in principle to bicycle lanes and would attempt to better integrate the city's automobile and bicycle traffic on "appropriate streets."
Choquette also promised to close Montreal's Miron quarry landfill and, as a short-term solution to the city's trash problems, ship its garbage to "outlying areas." He criticized the recommendations of a Montreal Urban Community
Montreal Urban Community
The Montreal Urban Community was a regional government that covered all municipalities that later merged into the megacity of Montreal.- History :...
task force on this issue as overly focused on a "three R's" strategy of reduction, reuse, and recycling
Waste hierarchy
The waste hierarchy refers to the 3 Rs of reduce, reuse, recycle, or and [ which classify waste management strategies according to their desirability. The Rs are meant to be a hierarchy, in order of importance...
.
In September 1994, Choquette promised to remove $600 million from Montreal's budget by cutting jobs and salaries, eliminating public consultation forums, and possibly adding toll booths to the island's bridges. At a subsequent press conference, he promised a 10 per cent pay cut for all councillors. On the latter occasion, he described himself as influenced by Ralph Klein's government in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
.
While the Parti des Montréalais was generally regarded as right-wing, it included in its ranks some progressives such as Jeremy Searle. The party's platform included some progressive social measures, such as a proposal to allow low-income tenants to purchase their apartments as co-operatives.
1994 election results
Choquette finished a distant third in the 1994 mayoral contest, receiving about 13% of the popular vote. All three of Parti des Montréalais's incumbent councillors were defeated, while only two party candidates were elected: Searle in the Loyola division and Michael Applebaum in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. When the news of his party's defeat was reported, Choquette remarked that voters "preferred a dream to reality."Aftermath
Searle and Applebaum resigned from the party to sit as independents on April 3, 1995; Searle indicated that both he and Applebaum had been excluded from party planning. Choquette pledged later in the same month that he would continue to lead the debt-ridden party, but, on May 9, 1995, he formally asked Quebec's chief election official to dissolve the organization. One of party's candidates, Frank VenneriFrank Venneri
Frank Venneri is a politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He served on the Montreal city council from 1986 to 1990, was re-elected in 1998, and has been returned to council in every election since then...
, remarked at around this time that questionable financial strategies had doomed it from the beginning.