Gracia Kasoki Katahwa to run for Projet Montréal leadership

Gracia Kasoki Katahwa, borough mayor of Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, has announced she will be running for the Projet Montréal leadership.

The party is in search of a new leader after Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said in October she will not seek another mandate.

Katahwa said last week that she was weighing a run for the position.  

In a Facebook post published on Saturday, Katahwa, a nurse manager, emphasized that a deep-seated "need to help others" drove her to enter politics in 2021.

"We deserve a city that cares for its people, and I know that our movement is capable of creating that city," she said. "I want to continue building this city with you."

Originally from the Republic of Congo, Katahwa immigrated to Quebec City at the age of three before moving to Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood in 2009.

Working as a nurse made her sensitive to the daily suffering of people, Katahwa said in her post.

"I have seen how the failings of the health-care system have a serious impact on people's lives," she said.

Katahwa studied nursing at Université Laval and worked as a nurse at the Jewish General Hospital.

She also served as an administrator of the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec from November 2018 to March 2024.

Two other candidates have announced their intention to succeed Plante.

Luc Rabouin, the mayor of the Plateau Mont-Royal borough, said Thursday that he would run for party leader.

Guedwig Bernier, the former president of Projet Montréal, also expressed his interest in party leadership.

Hopefuls have until Jan. 31, 2025, to be official leadership candidates. To do so, they must secure signatures from 200 of the party's members from at least seven boroughs, with a minimum of 10 signatures from each of those boroughs. The leadership race will end on March 15, when the party will announce the results of its internal vote.