Union Montreal
| Union Montreal | |
|---|---|
| Union Montréal | |
Former municipal party
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| Founded | September 30, 2001 |
| Dissolved | May 9, 2013 |
| Ideology | Centrism, Liberalism, Social liberalism, Federalism Internal factions: • Neoliberalism • Environmentalism |
| Political position | Centre |
| Colours | Yellow and Blue (also Green, Brown and Pink) |
| Politics of Montreal Political parties |
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Union Montreal (French: Union Montréal) was a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the governing party in the city from 2001, when it won its first election under mayor Gérald Tremblay, until 2012. Although it remains the largest single party caucus in the city government, it lost its majority in November 2012 due to a number of councillors quitting the party to sit as independents in the wake of Tremblay's resignation.[1]
Contents
Origins[edit]
It was established as the Montreal Island Citizens Union (MICU, French: Union des citoyens et des citoyennes de l’Île de Montréal or UCIM) in the aftermath of the province-wide municipal merger of 2001 and not long before the municipal election of that same year. It is the product of a merger between the Montreal Citizens' Movement (RCM) and a group of suburban politicians who backed Gérald Tremblay for mayor.
Electoral performance[edit]
Tremblay was the party's first mayoral candidate and was elected with 49% of the vote over incumbent Pierre Bourque. He was re-elected in 2005 with 54% of the vote against the same candidate, and again in 2009 over Vision Montreal's Louise Harel and Projet Montreal's Richard Bergeron.
Change of name[edit]
In May 2007, Tremblay announced that the party would take its current name: Union Montreal. He also unveiled a new party logo. Instead of the yellow and blue logo used by the party from 2001 to 2007, a new multicolored symbol that represents Montreal's diversity would take place. The new label consists of five vertical stripes (blue, green, brown, yellow and pink), each bearing one of the letters of the word UNION.
Tremblay crisis[edit]
During a hearing at the Charbonneau Commission on October 1, 2012, construction industry contractor Lino Zambito alleged that Union Montreal received a sum equivalent to three per cent of the value of sewerage rehabilitation contracts awarded by the City of Montreal to a mafia-linked cartel.
On October 30, 2012, a former Union Montreal party organizer alleged that Mayor Tremblay was involved in illegal financing with the mafia. He claimed that Tremblay knew of these dubious financial practices and did not want to be made aware of them.[2] These statements caused a series of negative reactions from the spokespeople of all the provincial political parties.
Following the allegations, Tremblay announced that he would be taking a few days off. On November 5, 2012, Tremblay announced that he was resigning as mayor, and was leaving politics.[3] Following his resignation, Union Montreal councillors Frantz Benjamin, Michael Applebaum, Lionel Perez, Susan Clarke, Marvin Rotrand, Christian Dubois, Daniel Bélanger, Ginette Marotte, Alain Tassé and Frank Venneri all left the party to sit as independents.[1] Seven more city and borough councillors resigned in February 2013, including the entire borough council of Anjou.[4]
The party selected Richard Deschamps as its new candidate for Mayor of Montreal in the council vote on November 16.[5] However, Deschamps was defeated 31 to 29 by Applebaum,[5] who pledged to run a non-partisan coalition council in which members of all parties, as well as the bloc of independents, would share seats on the Montreal Executive Committee.[5]
On May 9, 2013, the party was officially dissolved, with the remaining members becoming independents. In the runup to the 2013 municipal election campaign, several of its former members have rallied around the candidacy of Denis Coderre,[6] who has also attracted support from former Vision Montréal councillors.
Mayoral candidates[edit]
| Election | Mayoral Candidate | Popular Vote for Mayor | Number of Councillors | |
| 2001 | Gérald Tremblay | 49.11% | 41/73 | |
| 2005 | Gérald Tremblay | 53.73% | 47/64 | |
| 2009 | Gérald Tremblay | 37.90% | 38/64 |
Victories are indicated with bold fonts.
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Chaos and politicking at city hall as Union Montreal loses majority". CTV News, November 14, 2012.
- ^ La Rouche, Vincent (2012-10-30). "Financement illégal: Gérald Tremblay veut témoigner" (in French). La Presse. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
- ^ Moore, Lynn (2012-11-05). "Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay resigns". The Gazette (Montreal). Retrieved 6 November 2012.
- ^ "La fin d'Union Montréal?". TVA Nouvelles. 21 February 2013.
- ^ a b c "Michael Applebaum elected mayor of Montreal". CTV News, November 16, 2012.
- ^ "Denis Coderre unveils eight more candidates for his party". The Gazette, June 17, 2013.
External links[edit]
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