The mayor of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier, will seek a second mandate in the fall as part of the next municipal elections.
“I am announcing to you that I will be a candidate for re-election in the 2025 municipal election,” she said during a press briefing on Thursday morning.
Ms. Fournier mentioned having hesitated to remain in municipal politics following the flooding caused by storm “Debby”.
“A few weeks ago, when my Montreal counterpart, Valérie Plante, announced that she would not seek a new mandate as mayor of Montreal […] I admitted that I almost made the same decision as her this summer,” she explained.
The mayor of Longueuil has, however, thought carefully over the past few months and says she is ready to continue the work she started during her first mandate.
“I deeply want to continue and see what we are building evolve,” she said.
“There are very few functions that allow you to contribute to transforming your society and your community as I have the opportunity to do on a daily basis,” she added. I take the full measure of the opportunity that my fellow citizens offer me.”
In the 2021 municipal election, a record 257 women were elected to the position of mayor.
However, several of them have since announced that they are resigning or that they will not run again in the next elections, notably those of Montreal, Gatineau, Sherbrooke, Percé and Chapais.
“When we released the media notice regarding my political future last night, I suspected that the most persistent rumor would probably be that of my departure,” said Catherine Fournier. This is what happened, and it’s a bit of the demonstration that I wanted to do.”
“I want us to get out of the negative spiral and talk about beauty in politics,” she added. Being mayor is true that it is demanding, but above all it is a privilege. I admit that in the end, every sacrifice is worth it.”
After five years as a Parti Québécois member of the National Assembly, Ms. Fournier was elected mayor of Longueuil during the 2021 elections, obtaining more than 60% of the votes cast.
The next municipal elections will take place across Quebec on November 2, 2025.
