(
Political Party in
Montreal ,
Quebec ,
Canada . It has been in existence since
1994 and presently forms the
Opposition on
Montreal City Council under
Noushig Eloyan .
The party was established in
1994 to promote the candidacy of Director of the
Montréal Botanical Garden and then rising political star
Pierre Bourque for
Mayor Of Montreal .
Bourque was elected Mayor against
Incumbent Jean Doré in
1994 . 39 of his candidates were elected to
City Hall . In
1998 , he and his team were re-elected for a second term.
The Bourque administration is credited with:
- the introduction of a balanced city budget, with the help of the Provincial Government in 1998 ;
- the revitalization of the Old Montreal Historic District;
- the implementation of Neighborhood programs knowns as ''Éco-quartiers''; such programs consist of:
- --- Recycling ;
- --- adding greenery on public property;
- the reopening of the Lachine Canal in 1997 ;
- the expansion of diplomatic and commercial relations between Montreal and Shangai , China ; [http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/52/52052.htm Visite de Pierre Bourque en Asie, Radio-Canada, July 13, 2000]
- a modest reversal of Montreal 's suburbanization between 1996 and 2001 ;
- the Merger of Montreal and 27 other surrounding municipalities into one city government that covers the entire island of Montreal in 2001 - 02 (an idea known as ''Une île, une ville'' or ''One island, one city'' in the English language).
However, Vision Montreal's performance was not beyond reproach.
For instance, the party was plagued by allegations of campaign-finance violations during its tenure. [http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/22/22837.htm Le parti de Pierre Bourque dans le pétrin, Radio-Canada, February 26, 1999]
On the other hand Bourque was criticized for his perceived lack of flexibility. During his first term, he suffered a
Munity within his party. Fifteen of his councillors
Left his administration to sit as
Independents . By
August 1997 , only a minority of the councilmembers (24 out of 51) were members of Vision Montreal. [http://www.erudit.org/revue/ps/2003/v22/n1/006579ar.html La politique municipale à Montréal dans les années 1990 : du « réformisme populaire » au « populisme gestionnaire », Serge Belley, Érudit]
Furthermore, the merger was met with so much resistance from residents and politicians of
Montreal ’s predominantly
English-speaking West Island that by
2005 fifteen municipalities had demerged from the
City Center . After it had reached 1.8 million people, the population of Montreal was reduced to 1.6 million residents.
Also, Bourque was often ridiculed because his strong emphasis on environmental issues was sometimes dismissed as nothing more than a simple annoyance. He was soon known as ''Géranium I
er (Geranium the First)'' to the public. During a
May 12 ,
2006 interview with then
Journalist Bernard Drainville though, Bourque claimed that he was not offended by the nickname, pointing at the fact that there is nothing shameful about "being a gardener". [http://www.radio-canada.ca/actualite/v2/lapartdeschoses/archive53_200605.shtml# Pierre Bourque: l'homme, le jardinier et le maire, La part des choses, Radio-Canada, May 12, 2006]
In
2001 , Vision Montreal was voted out of office. 64% of the residents of pre-merger Montreal voted for Bourque and his team. But elsewhere, Vision Montreal met a very strong, well-disciplined and united opposition.
Gérald Tremblay , who was backed by former members of the
Montreal Citizens' Movement (RCM) as well as anti-merger activists, became mayor.
In
2005 , Vision Montreal saw its share of the popular vote eroded in pre-merger Montreal, while it still was regarded with mistrust by voters elsewhere.
In
2003 , Bourque temporarily left his job as
Leader Of The Opposition , while he tried to become an
ADQ Member of the
Provincial Legislature in the district of
Bourget . He lost and decided to resume his career at the municipal level. Councillor
Ivon Le Duc slammed the door and made the decision to sit as an
Independent , [http://lcn.canoe.com/infos/regional/archives/2003/02/20030218-193800.html Ivon Le Duc siégera finalement comme indépendant, LCN, February 18, 2003] but the majority of the Vision Montreal members wanted Bourque back.
Bourque stayed for three more years.
However he decided to quit city politics in
May 2006 . Following his resignation, François Purcell (Councilmember for the district of
Saint-Édouard ) was selected as the party’s Acting Leader. Noushig Eloyan (Councilmember for the district of
Bordeaux-Cartierville ) has become the Acting Leader of the Opposition.
A leadership convention should be called before the
2009 election.
It is unclear whether or not emerging party ''Programme Montréal'' has the potential to replace Vision Montreal as the main alternative to the Tremblay administration. However, it seems evident that Vision Montreal, despite its difficulties, has been the most stable opposition party at
City Hall since the
RCM of the early
1980's .
Victories are indicated with
Fonts .
