Laval and Longueuil voters elect young mayors to lead cities

At 29 years old, Catherine Fournier has been elected mayor of Quebec's fifth most populous city, Longueuil, on Montreal's South Shore. She took more than 61 per cent of the vote.

And north of Montreal, Stéphane Boyer, at just 33 years old, is taking over as mayor of the province's third most populated city — Laval. He took 41.5 per cent of the vote.

"The time for renewal has arrived, change is at the gates of city hall," said Fournier, who is taking over for outgoing Mayor Sylvie Parent.

Fournier was elected as head of Coalition Longueuil, a new party, soon after announcing her intention to run in a city that has had its fair share of controversy in recent years.

Fournier, who beat candidates Josée Latendresse, Jean-Marc Léveillé and Jacques Létourneau, promised to listen to the citizens of all three boroughs.

She has vowed to take on housing, organizing a Quebec-wide summit on the housing crisis.

She made that commitment with Boyer, who also won his own election in Laval. He is carrying on the torch of his party for outgoing mayor Marc Demers, head of the Mouvement Lavallois party.

"I take it as a vote of confidence on the good work done in recent years," said Boyer after being elected.

Fournier fights for Quebec independence 

Fournier, originally from the nearby town of Sainte-Julie, has a bachelor's degree in economics and political science. At age 23, she ran unsuccessfully for the Bloc Québécois in the riding of Montarville.

She then worked as a press attaché for former Parti Québécois leader Pierre Karl Péladeau, and later became the youngest MNA in the province's history when elected to represent the Marie-Victorin riding in 2016 and 2018.

She left the PQ a few months later, saying it was no longer the right vehicle to achieve independence for Quebec. She has since sat as an Independent, pushing for Quebec's independence.

She took an unpaid leave of absence to run municipally. Now that she was elected mayor, she will have to step down as MNA and a byelection will be called in Marie-Victorin.

Boyer promises to curb his own salary

Elected as municipal councillor in 2013, Boyer acted as deputy mayor in recent months when Demers was absent to attend to his sick wife.

Boyer chaired the city's executive committee under the Demers administration. He was competing for the mayoral seat against Michel Trottier, of the Parti Laval, and Sophie Trottier, of Action Laval.

During his campaign, Boyer pledged to lower his salary by a quarter if he were to be elected, after the Journal de Montreal revealed Demers was the second highest paid mayor in the province in 2020.

Fournier, too, has pledged to reduce her salary, which at about $250,000 a year would make her the best-paid mayor in the province.

In the days leading up to the election, Boyer urged people on Facebook to have confidence in his team.

"Our team is experienced, renewed, equal and representative of the Laval community," he said.