Leader Justine McIntyre Political position Centre | Founded September 4, 2013 Colours Orange | |
Headquarters 1000 De la Gauchetière Street West, suite 900
Montreal, Quebec
H3B 5H4 Ideology Environmentalism
Community politics | ||
Vrai changement pour Montréal (Full name: Vrai changement pour Montréal - Groupe Mélanie Joly, English: Real change for Montreal - Mélanie Joly Group) is a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The party's current leader is Justine McIntyre.
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Origins and 2013 campaign
Vrai changement was founded by Mélanie Joly in September 2013 to contest the 2013 Montreal municipal elections. Joly was the party's 2013 mayoral candidate.
Joly released a ten-point platform during the 2013 campaign, highlighted by a plan for improved public transit (via a 130-kilometre rapid service bus system), the construction of affordable housing units with enough rooms for young families, and a "Charter of Nightlife" to promote Montreal's vibrant nocturnal scene. She also promised to make more information publicly available, promote public art, and encourage citizen ventures via a Montreal wiki. On economic issues, Joly promised to simplify the application process for persons starting a business and to establish the office of a "Chief of economic development," who would be responsible for promotions and co-ordination.
Describing her party platform as "simple and very ambitious," Joly also remarked, "Basically, we don't want Montreal to become a huge suburb. We want to keep the cultural identity of Montreal while also bettering the quality of life for Montrealers."
2013 election results
Despite being a political newcomer, Joly built a strong support base throughout the mayoral campaign and received over 26% of the vote on election day, finishing a relatively close second against the winning candidate, Denis Coderre.
The party was less successful in the elections for Montreal City Council but it made some breakthroughs. The party received just over six per cent of the vote, and four of its candidates were elected to city council: Normand Marinacci (who was elected as borough mayor of L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève), Justine McIntyre, Lorraine Pagé, and Steve Shanahan. In addition, the party won control of the L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève borough by winning 3 of its 4 borough councilor seats. Another borough councilor, Roger Trottier, was elected in Pierrefonds-Roxboro. Joly's co-listed candidate was defeated, meaning that she was not able to take a seat on council herself.
After the election, Joly said that she would remain in municipal politics and run for a council seat as soon as possible. She remained the party's leader until September 2014, when she stepped down and was succeeded by Pagé.