Outcomes in these 7 boroughs could help shift balance of power in Montreal's city hall

While the race for mayor of Montreal may be soaking up most of the attention, there are still plenty of tight races across the city where the outcome will help shape the balance of power at city hall.

A total of 103 positions are up for grabs across 19 boroughs: city mayor, 18 borough mayors, 46 city councillors and 38 borough councillors.

This year, there are 340 candidates, and 1,111,100 people registered to vote.

Some long-serving candidates are a shoo-in where the voting base traditionally maintains the status quo, but there are several boroughs where the contest is neck and neck.

Each win or loss could spell the difference between a majority or minority council.

Côte-Des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-De-Grâce

Côte-Des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-De-Grâce, the city's most populous borough, has been a political hotspot since Sue Montgomery's victory in 2017.

Harassment allegations against her chief of staff devolved into a feud with Valérie Plante. Montgomery was booted from Projet Montréal. There were court cases, ethics complaints and a whole lot of mudslinging.

Now Montgomery is running her own party against Lionel Perez, who has led the opposition for the last four years for Ensemble Montréal.

Perez held the borough mayor's seat for about a year after Michael Applebaum headed off on a journey of his own.

There are a total of six candidates running for mayor, including Projet's Gracia Kasoki Katahwa. Beyond that, all six elected officials in the borough serve at city hall.

Two Projet councillors remain quite popular in their districts. NDG's Peter McQueen was first elected in 2009 and won with 66 per cent of the vote in 2017. In CDN, Magda Popeanu was re-elected with about 55 per cent.

However, there are no incumbents running in Snowdon, Darlington and Loyola, meaning there will be three new councillors once the dust settles.

Villeray—Saint-Michel—Parc-Extension

Villeray—Saint-Michel—Parc-Extension voters have to agree on one mayor and four city councillors.

Projet's Laurence Lavigne Lalonde is a familiar face in Montreal politics, having been elected as city councillor in the east end's Maisonneuve–Longue-Pointe district in 2013.

More recently, she's served on the executive committee, and is now aiming to be borough mayor.

Guillaume Lavoie, who served as city councillor for the Marie-Victorin district from 2013 to 2017, lost his Projet leadership bid to Valérie Plante. Now he's looking to make a comeback alongside Denis Coderre.

Meanwhile, Giuliana Fumagalli has formed a party of her own, Quartiers Montréal. She was elected borough mayor with Projet in 2017 before being kicked out of its caucus in 2018 over harassment complaints.

There are also four city councillor spots in the borough, with no shortage of candidates in each district.

Housing is on everybody's mind there, especially in Parc-Extension, where the construction of the Université de Montréal's new MIL Campus is causing real estate prices to skyrocket.

Verdun

Verdun is getting a new mayor after Jean-François Parenteau stepped down, but one of his potential replacements is stirring up a bit of controversy in a borough where housing is a hot topic.

Antoine Richard, Ensemble's pick for mayor of Verdun, has been accused in the media of being a house flipper and of charging high rent for apartments he owns.

Lyn Leigh O'Donnell, founder of a non-profit countering gentrification in the borough spotted an ad for a three-bedroom apartment in Verdun recently for $2,100 per month. As it turns out, Richard is the landlord.

An apartment of that size cost an average of $1,010 per month in 2019.

Richard is running against Jayoti Nanda of Mouvement Montréal and Projet's Marie-Andrée Mauger. Mauger is no stranger to politics as she has served as borough councillor for the Desmarchais-Crawford district since 2013.

The borough has two city councillors and four borough councillors.

Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve

Projet is trying to get Pierre Lessard-Blais re-elected as mayor of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, but he's up against two well-known candidates in a borough where homelessness, gentrification and housing are big concerns.

Ensemble is betting on Karine Boivin-Roy, opposition leader and councillor for the borough's Louis-Riel district since 2013. Actress and activist Patricia Tulasne has also thrown her hat into the ring, running for mayor for Mouvement.

The borough has four city councillors and the battle is expected to be close in Hochelega where Denis Coderre recruited Réal Ménard.

Ménard spent 16 years in the House of Commons with the Bloc Québécois. He then lost his bid for borough mayor in 2017.

Now he is looking to unseat Éric Alan Caldwell, currently responsible for mobility on the executive committee. Caldwell has been a councillor since 2013. He won with more than 70 per cent of the vote in the last election.

Riviere-des-Prairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles

Rivière-des-Prairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles, which extends to the eastern tip of the island, has long had transportation at the heart of municipal debates.

Caroline Bourgeois was elected in a 2018 byelection after Chantal Rouleau moved into provincial politics.

Bourgeois is hoping to hold onto her seat, running once again for Projet against Ensemble's Lyne Laperrière, head of a non-profit organization, Association d'isolation du Québec (AIQ).

Along with the mayor, there are three city councillors and three borough councillor positions to fill.

Projet's Lisa Christensen won her district, La Pointe-aux-Prairies, in 2017 after a recount. She had 32 more votes than Coderre's candidate.

Now she's up against three other candidates this time around, including Ensemble's Vincent Girard and Mouvement's Paulo Saade.

Montréal-Nord

In Montréal-Nord, Will Prosper is hoping to topple the borough's all-Ensemble council.

Prosper is a filmmaker, community organizer and human rights activist. He's running with Plante, and she stood by his side back in August when the reason he was dismissed from the RCMP came to light.

In 1999, RCMP accused Prosper of accessing sensitive information about alleged Montreal gang members who were under investigation for murder. He was dismissed from the force.

Christine Black, who has a history of local community activism herself, won her mayoral seat during a 2016 byelection.

Coderre's running mate, Chantal Rossi, is seeking re-election in the borough's Ovide-Clermont district.

The borough has two city councillors and two borough councillors. Along with public security and a lack of public investment in the borough, racial discrimination continues to be an issue there.

Most recently, dozens of blue-collar workers in the borough alleging racial discrimination on the job said they are not happy with the way their case is being handled.

Ville-Marie

Ville-Marie, Montreal's downtown borough, will be led by whoever is elected mayor of the city and three city councillors.

Cathy Wong, city councillor for Peter-McGill, is stepping down. She won the district for Coderre in 2017, but then crossed the aisle to join Projet.

Now Coderre is running Serge Sasseveille, former vice-president of Quebecor, a media and telecommunications company.

He's up against Balarama Holness, running mate of Idil Issa.

If Plante loses her seat as mayor and her running mate, Sophie Mauzerolle, wins the Sainte-Marie district, Plante has said she would take the councillor post.

In that case, Plante would likely be leader of the opposition.