Montreal Citizens' Movement
Montreal Citizens' Movement Rassemblement des citoyens et des citoyennes de Montréal | |
---|---|
Former municipal party | |
New Democratic Party | |
Colours | Red |
The Montreal Citizens' Movement (MCM,
. It existed from 1973 to 2001.Origins
The Montreal Citizens' Movement was founded shortly before the 1974 municipal elections by a variety of groups: members of the Front d'Action Politique (FRAP), a left-leaning coalition of community-based action groups which had unsuccessfully run in the 1970 election; the Urban Progressive Movement (UPM), a mostly English-speaking group of community activists with links to the
Amongst the founders were journalist
While FRAP had seen itself as a radical social movement as well as a municipal political party, the MCM defined itself as a party with firm community roots.
Opposition to Jean Drapeau
Eighteen of the party's candidates were elected to
The MCM was put back on the way to recovery when Jean Doré became its leader and mayoral candidate in 1982. Doré finished a strong second and fifteen of his candidates were elected. In 1984, Doré won a by-election and became the City Councillor of the district of Saint-Jean-Baptiste.
The Doré administration and its accomplishments
Drapeau retired in 1986. By this time, his Civic Party was seen as tired and complacent after 26 years in power. Additionally, Drapeau didn't have a clear successor. The MCM took full advantage, and seized control of the city at the 1986 elections in a comprehensive victory. Doré was handily elected as mayor, while the RCM took 55 seats on council.
The MCM Executive Committee consisted of Michael Fainstat, Chairman, Robert Perreault, Vice-Chairman; John Gardiner, 42, who oversaw housing and city planning; Kathleen Verdon, who was in charge of culture, tourism and relations with cultural communities; Jacqueline Bordeleau, who was responsible for public works and fire prevention; and Lea Cousineau, who was in charge of recreation, social affairs, health and the status of women.
The party was devastated when longstanding members and sitting city councillors Pierre-Yves Melancon, Sam Boskey, Marvin Rotrand, and Pierre Goyer quit the party, accusing Doré of cozying up to powerful interests and betraying the MCM notion of reform. (They would later found the
In 1990, Doré and his team would be re-elected with a reduced majority. Four more MCM councillors quit during this sitting.
The Doré administration is credited with:
- the renewal of the Old Port and the parks and beaches of Île Sainte-Hélène
- the completion of Berri Square (Place Émilie-Gamelin), Place Charles de Gaulle and the Archaeology Museum at Pointe-à-Callière;
- the establishment of the first public commissions at City Hall;
- the adoption of Montreal's first Master Urban Plan.
Nonetheless, it faced growing criticism by
Decline and merger
By 1994, the MCM was voted out of office and held onto only 6 seats on Council. Doré, although he had won a seat on Council, decided not to sit. Internal struggles over the succession of Jean Doré undermined the party's credibility. After she won the MCM nomination for the 1998 mayoral election,[2] City Councillor Thérèse Daviau left the party and announced that she would support Jacques Duchesneau - a former police chief and future member of the National Assembly of Quebec - for Mayor.[3]
In 1998, MCM candidate
Mayoral candidates
Election | Mayoral Candidate | Popular Vote for Mayor | Number of Councillors | |
1974 | Jacques Couture[4][5] | 39% | 18/55 | |
1978 | Guy Duquette | 12% | 1/54 | |
1982 | Jean Doré | 36% | 15/57 | |
1986 | Jean Doré | 68% | 55/58 | |
1990 | Jean Doré | 59% | 41/50 | |
1994 | Jean Doré | 32% | 7/51 | |
1998 | Michel Prescott[6] | 14% | 4/51 |
Victories are indicated with
Footnotes
- ^ Nick Auf der Maur (1942-1998) Homme politique, Bilan du Siècle, Université de Sherbrooke
- ^ Thérèse Daviau élue chef du RCM, Radio-Canada, March 29, 1998 Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Thérèse Daviau quitte le RCM, Radio-Canada, April 27, 1998 Archived October 1, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Jacques Couture was the Parti Québécois Member of the National Assembly for the district of Saint-Henri from 1976 to 1981, as well as a Cabinet Member in the government of René Lévesque.
- ^ Jacques Couture, Assemblée nationale du Québec Archived 2003-05-07 at the Wayback Machine
- Independent from 1992 to 1997 and has been affiliated to Gérald Tremblay's Union Montrealparty since 2001.