Platforms and promises: Your guide to Montreal's municipal election

Are you still figuring out who you're voting for?

You can vote in the Montreal election on Nov. 6 and Nove. 7. Valrie Plante, leading Projet Montral, is hoping to be re-elected for a second term as mayor.

Denis Coderreis also trying for a second term, as leader ofEnsemble Montral. He was first elected mayor in 2013 before being defeated by Plante in 2017.

Newcomer Balarama Holness is also on the ticket, with his new party Mouvement Montral. The party turned heads when it absorbed the now-defunct Ralliement pour Montral.

Here's a look at where the parties stand on the big issues now that the parties have released their platforms.

Housing

• Projet Montral has committed to building 60,000 affordable housing units over 10 years, a number opponents have derided as unrealistic. The party also says it would implement an "owner certificate" for landlords who own buildings ofeight or more units. The certificate would act as a register to control illegal rent increases and to keep track of renovation or construction requests. Italso announced a project to convert some unused office spaces downtown into residential dwellings.

• Ensemble Montral would create a rent registry and increase the number of inspectors. Companies thatown housing wouldhave to have any unit that's over 20 years old independently inspected. Coderrehas also promised to build 50,000 new housing units in his first mandate if elected, though that information was not noted in the platform.

• Mouvement Montral would create a registerto serve as a rent control system. A landlord licensing system would also be put in place, with the idea of conducting yearly inspections of rental properties. The party has committed to increasing the city's housing budget two per cent every year for four years. It says it wouldbuild 30,000 affordable rental units next to major transportation hubs and would expand social housing eligibility to include those who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

Policing

• Projet Montralhas pledged an extra$110 million for public security to tackle gun violence and "ensure the safety of Montreal neighbourhoods," in addition to a $15 million emergency fund. It also promisesto give $5 million to local community groups that work to prevent violence and says it willoutfitthe SPVMwith body cameras in 2022. It also wants theMMIS pilot project, which sends social workers to respond to some 911 calls without police, expanded to all boroughs.

• Ensemble Montralsaysit will not cut funding to the police. It saysthat, in its first mandate, it would bring inbody cams andhire 250 more police officers for the SPVM. It would also double funding forthe police teams that work with, or are staffed by,social workers. It would alsohave the chief of police double as one of the city's assistantcity managers, reporting to the city manager.

• Mouvement Montral's platform proposes reducing the police department's budgetin favour of increasing funding for "affordable and social housing; health and social services; leisure, recreation and sports infrastructure." Holness saysup to $100 million of the SPVM's $679 million budget could be reallocated.It would also mandate annual training for officers on issues such as domestic violence and anti-racism and ban the police service from using facial recognition technology.

Environment

• Projet Montralhas pledged to make Montreal carbon neutral by 2050. The plan includes banning single-use plastics by 2023 and planting 500,000 trees to reach 25 per cent tree canopy cover, starting with "at-risk" boroughs. The city would also create electric-car-only parking spots downtown and make the downtown core a zero-emission zone by 2030.

• Ensemble Montral saysit would promote the concentrationand electrification of transit. It would also forma committee with the province to reduce carbon emissions. Locally, it has committed to having trees planted on every street in Montreal and says it would push to have UNESCO recognize Mount Royal as a heritage site.It also said it would also create an elevated park on the Notre-Dame viaduct, reminiscent of the New York High Line, and cover the DcarieExpressway to create a public green space.

• Mouvement Montral saysit would also create an independent council on "climate justice" to advise the mayor's officeand incorporate Indigenous knowledge into environmental policy. It would also invest in green spaces and community gardens, though the party did not offer specific targets. Mouvement saysit would also place more recycling/compost bins in public spaces, ban single-use plastics, and create a scientific liaison officeto assist in drafting policy.

Public transit

• Projet Montral says itwill push for further Metro line expansions, including the Blue line extension. The platform specifically mentions the Pink line, which was one of Plante's signature promises in 2017. Projet would also add 300 buses to the STM network, and commits to making all public transit buses fully electric by 2025, makingrides free for seniors and cutting the cost of a pass byhalf for those age 12-17.

• Ensemble Montral would create a "commitment of quality" charter for public transit and a monitoring committee to ensure projects, such as the Blue line expansion, stick to schedule. Expanding existing services is not mentioned in the platform.

• Mouvement Montral saysit would offer free public transitto young Montrealers (25 and under), seniors (65 and over), andreduced fairs for low-income Montrealers. It also aims to make STM stations fully accessible by 2028 and would hold STM public consultations to identify and address gaps in service. It would also provide a tax rebate to companies that buy transit passes in bulk for employees.It would encourage an extension of the REM de l'Est towardRivire-des-Prairies.

Bike paths

• Projet Montral saysit would build more cycling infrastructure, including expanding the Rseau express vlo (REV). In addition, it would add more bicycle parking and create a program to subsidize the cost of family bikes, electric bikes or bikes adapted to those with mobility issues. Projet also pledges to implement awareness campaigns around cycling and road safety, with a focus on youth and children.

• Ensemble Montral would prioritize improving existing cycling infrastructure and training for young cyclists. The party says it would only expand the bike path network after consulting with stakeholders. Coderrehas also said he would remove part of the REV bike path on Bellechasse Avenue in Rosemont and turn the space back into parking.

• Mouvement Montralsaysit would hold a public consultation on cycling to expand the network and "remedy issues between cycling and on-street parking."Itwould also co-ordinate future bike-path development with commercial and residential stakeholders and require a licence for electric bikes that go faster than30 km/h.

Neighbourhood life

• Projet Montral saysit wants to continue the summer pedestrianization of Montreal streets and extend the patio season. Projet also wants to create more public spaces, such as sitting areas, and wants to make museums and other cultural venues free for those 17 and under. It announced it would also convert at least 15 vacant lots into sports and recreation fields.

• Ensemble Montralalso has committed to prioritizing new recreational centres in several boroughs. The party also saysit would try to make the city's east end a "green Silicon Valley" by encouraging green start-ups and ecologically minded businesses.Ensemble saysit would create two new animal shelters, one in the city's east end and one in the west. It has clarified that it would not implementa bylaw against pitbull-type dogs, as it had proposed in 2017.

• Mouvement Montral saysit would make recreational facilities free for low-income families and invest in creating "youth hubs" in community centres. It also plans to create "economic zones" in low-income neighbourhoods, which would include tax incentives for small businesses in the area. It would also invest in benches and public restrooms in places with high homeless populations.

The French language

• Projet Montralwould createan action plan to promotethe French language and would appointa French language commissioner for the city. It also saysit wants to work with partners to better help new arrivals learn French, and to encourage the use of French in businesses and workplaces, but has not offeredspecifics on what those initiatives would be.

• Ensemble Montral saysthe city should capitalize on the economic, touristic and cultural benefits of being a francophone metropolis, but does not have anything in its platform concerning the protection of the French language.

• Mouvement Montralsays it would hold public consultations on whether services (public and private) should be offeredin both English and French. From there, it would decide if there should be a referendum on giving Montreal bilingual status. It would also offer subsidizedEnglish and French classes for everyone,and encourage anglophones who lack "high-level" French to apply for government jobs.

Reviving downtown

• Projet Montral says it would invest $1 billion in downtown revitalization. Itwould also extend operating hours for restaurants and entertainment in the downtown core, adopt a nightlife strategy and try to promote Montreal as a food destination in North America. It also says it would work with provincial authorities to force building owners with vacant storefronts to contribute to the local merchant association. It also said it would designate zones downtown where construction work could happen 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to speed up the process.

• Ensemble Montral saysit wantsto work with partners (like the convention centreand Tourisme Montral) to attract international events and foreign investment to the city. It also aims to "promote Montreal as a student city" to attract foreign students, and offer tax credits to encourage them to stay.

• Mouvement Montral saysit would reduce industrial and commercial property taxes by 2025, and lock them in at 2.75 times the residential property tax rate. It has also proposed creating a business centreto streamline applications and permits for businesses. It would also create an economicplan specifically for Montreal's nightlife scene.

Interesting tidbits

• Projet Montralwouldinstitute a free "baby box" program for Montreal newborns. It would also build a network of refillable water bottle stations in the city and create a park specifically for mountain biking.

• Ensemble Montral saysit would expand the water taxi linking Pointe-aux-Trembles to the Old Port and reach out to other municipalities (such as Terrebonne and Repentigny) about including them inthe service.

• Mouvement Montralis promisingto abolishMontreal's "welcome tax." It also saysit wouldimplement online voting in municipal referendums and would freeze elected officials' salaries for four years. It would also create a "formal plan" for a professional basketball franchise in Montreal.