Alex Norris named interim mayor of Plateau-Mont-Royal

Alex Norris is taking over as interim mayor of Montreal's Plateau-Mont-Royal borough following the resignation of Luc Ferrandez.

Norris, a city councillor for the borough's Jeanne-Mance district, was first elected in 2009 as a member of Projet Montréal.

He said that a decade ago, people cast their votes for Projet because they wanted to see real change.

"We recognize that we're in a climate emergency, that we can't move tentatively and take half-measures," he said Wednesday.

"We are facing a climate crisis, and we need to act with vigour and determination."

Ferrandez announced his resignation Tuesday, saying he had grown frustrated with what he said was Mayor Valérie Plante's inaction on climate change.

Ferrandez, a divisive and prominent figure in municipal politics, had served as the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough mayor since 2009.

Norris commended Ferrandez for being able to enact change in his borough, "voter by voter, citizen by citizen."

"The ecologist vision of Plateau-Mont-Royal is still held by our team," he said.

Before entering politics, Norris was a journalist at the Montreal Gazette. 

A byelection to replace Ferrandez as mayor will be held in October.