The open house season

Casually, in the fall, we will be a year away from the next municipal elections. Already!

For the population that will go to vote, a year is a long time away. Especially since we could well have federal elections before — please, not at the same time like last time! For a person who would like to run for mayor, a year is the time to prepare the election campaign.

The behind-the-scenes work, we understand. Few people will confirm their intentions next fall, but those who want to get started will start to prepare.

Developing a program. Targeting themes. Building a team. Recruiting volunteers. Founding or not founding a party. Designing a visual. Raising funds. All this is not done by shouting “vote!”

Former Liberal MP Luc Fortin also advises people not to do as he did in 2021, during the election campaign for mayor of Sherbrooke, even though he had gotten into it “three days before it started. I still have dark circles and white hair.”

The creation of the new Vision Action Sherbrooke party demonstrates this well. The team is still discreet in the public arena, but behind the scenes, things are moving. Meetings are held to set up the party, recruit people, like their 5 to 7 at the Siboire Dépôt on June 17. The group has been working since last winter to culminate in a creation convention on September 14.

I’m opening this little parenthesis, but I hope that their program will be more inspired than their name. These words are to politics what “Roi de la patate” is to snack bars. We also find Vision Action in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines and Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, not to mention Vision Sainte-Sophie, Vision Saint-Lambert, Vision Saint-Jérôme, Vision L’Assomption, Vision Joliette, Équipe Action Dorval, Action Gatineau, Action Laval, Action Mirabel, Action Montréal, Action Trois-Rivières. One municipal party in five uses one of these two words, according to the list of Elections Québec.

That said, Sherbrooke Citoyen is not original either. At the moment, 23 parties use this word, such as Longueuil Citoyen, Unité citoyenne in Oka, Parti citoyenne in Sainte-Thérèse, Avantage citoyenne in Carignan, Direction citoyenne in Joliette, Option citoyenne in Lac-Beauport, Action citoyenne in Châteauguay. In La Prairie, we even have Place aux citoyens and Ensemble pour les citoyens (phew!).

Not having a generic party name in municipal politics seems really difficult. Fortunately, ideas are more important than the name.

The trigger

Speaking of Sherbrooke Citoyen, since the mayor of Sherbrooke, Évelyne Beaudin, announced that she would not seek a second term, rumors have been bouncing around like a ping-pong ball.

Let’s be honest. No one grabbed a megaphone to trumpet their ambitions for mayor. As the little pests that we journalists are, we asked everyone if Sherbrooke’s mayoralty interested them. Some said no, like former mayor Steve Lussier. Others said they were thinking about it, like councillor Danielle Berthold. Others just left the door open, without specifying whether it was an invitation or an escape hatch, like Liberal MP Marie-Claude Bibeau or former councillor Vincent Boutin.

All of the Sherbrooke Citoyen advisors have closed the door, except Raïs Kibonge and Laure Letarte-Lavoie, who want to think about it. We must also add the former New Democratic MP, Pierre-Luc Dussault, currently secretary of the party, who also wants to think about it.

Sherbrooke Citoyen will think very hard about it, we don’t wish them any headaches.

Without forgetting that Christine Labrie, despite her intention to “focus” on her mandate as a solidarity deputy, never said no to a possible candidacy for town hall, stressing that it was “a good question”. As a reminder, before becoming a member of Parliament for Sherbrooke, she ran in 2017 as a municipal councilor with Sherbrooke Citoyen. She finished only 2% behind Vincent Boutin.

If Christine Labrie ever lets herself be tempted by the Sherbrooke mayoralty, it would be strange if it were not with Sherbrooke Citoyen, especially since before their election to the council, Raïs Kibonge and Geneviève La Roche worked for the MNA.

That’s a lot of people in the door frame of Sherbrooke Citoyen. For the party, this is good news, a sign that it is not limited to Évelyne Beaudin, that the mobilization continues and that their political vision remains alive.

Without going into detail about the mixed results of Sherbrooke Citoyen, the growing polarization surrounding Évelyne Beaudin could have become a burden for the party.

The current mayor has a strong personality, a fiery temper, a quick retort and is not afraid to shake things up. All of this worked to her advantage when she was in opposition and during the election campaign. But as mayor, it is playing tricks on her. Rightly or wrongly.

Moreover, controversial decisions and policies tarnish him more than other members of his team.

The arrival of a new person at the head of Sherbrooke Citoyen could allow the party to bring the debate back to their political visions rather than defending the personality of their leader.

But her departure also opens the door to people who might not have wanted to run against her. Because no matter her record, she remains a tough debater who forces others to raise their arguments. Her departure allows others to come forward not against her, but for ideas. As if it were a new season with new teams – even if that won’t save Sherbrooke Citoyen from having to defend their record.

One thing is certain, we are lining up for at least two political parties and therefore two candidates for mayor of Sherbrooke in 2025. And perhaps a third independent person, or even more. And that is good news, there is nothing worse than a campaign without debates, without issues.

To all the people who are thinking, I wish you that the sun gives advice. Summer is a good season to leave the door open, you don’t risk catching a cold.

To respond to this column, write to us at [email protected]. Some answers may be published in our Opinions section.