What happened to Projet Montreal?

Projet Montreal is Montreal's municipal party with progressive roots – but have they strayed from these roots since their win in 2017? Local 514 investigates this, looking into the city’s management of housing, the police and gentrification in the city.

Associate professor Ted Rutland joins the show to discuss Projet Montreal's approach to policing, with intervention worker with the Indigenous Street Workers Program (ISPW) Pierre Parent also joining to discuss the party's handling of homelessness in Montreal. Lyn Lee, community organizer at Verdun, Ensemble contre la gentrification also weighs in to discuss how rent has changed in Montreal within the last couple of years. 

The city’s municipal party Projet Montreal had progressive roots, but since they took power in 2017, Montreal has seen the LARGEST rent increase since 2003.

Project Montreal also oversaw the demolition of multiple tent cities housing the homeless during the pandemic, and approved a historical increase of the police budget by $45 million in 2022.

None of these policies are progressive, so has Projet Montreal strayed from its beginning, and what are the progressive roots it maintains?

Last election saw the return of former mayor Denis Coderre, causing Projet Montreal to once again campaign head-to-head against Coderre’s party Ensemble Montreal. 

Ensemble campaigned on fear, citing that crime was on the rise and Ensemble could be the party to reduce crime in the city.

Coderre had a few occasions where he was loose with the truth, once stating that Montreal had experienced "400 shootouts," when discussing gun violence. This is not true.

If we include Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) statistics from 2018, 2019 and 2020, there were a total of 236 incidents where a firearm was discharged.

While the police have an overall adversarial relationship with the homeless, organizations like the ISWP have proven to be a beneficial resource.

Public demand for defunding the police, and reallocating resources to organizations like the ISWP has been increasing. In 2020, 73% of Montrealers were in support of reducing SPVM funding. Despite this, Projet Montreal has increased funding every year since – with the second highest increase towards the SPVM ever approved for the 2021 budget.

While police budgets have increased, so has rent, pushing many Montrealers out of neighbourhoods they've lived in – and been able to afford – for years or even decades.

Rent in Montreal increased by an average of 4.6% in 2020 – this is the highest increase the city has experienced in 18 years.

Lee says Projet Montreal has responded to the issue by enacting what she calls "lazy bylaws". 

One of the bylaws Lee is referring to is the responsible landlord certification. This requires landlords to register their property online in a public record, which will include the rental fee, vacancy, proof of inspections, whether the building is up to code, free of vermin and what work has been completed or needs to be done. This is required to be renewed every 5 years.

But this is not frequent enough for new tenants to be aware of large rent increases. only landlords responsible for 8 units or more will be obligated to register – these properties only account for an estimated 35% of the city’s rental market. 

So what has Projet Montreal done that is progressive? Watch the full episode above to find out.