CAQ recruits Montreal borough mayor, hoping for island breakthrough

Chantal Rouleau, re-elected as borough mayor ofRivire-des-PrairiesPointe-aux-Tremblesjust four months ago, is makingthe jump to provincial politics, running for the Coalition Avenir Qubecin this fall's election.

Rouleau announced Tuesday morning, with party Leader Franois Legault by her side, that she will run in the Pointe-aux-Trembles riding, in the heart of her borough in Montreal's east end.

Rouleauwas one of the few members of DenisCoderre'sparty to be re-elected in November. She will stay on as borough mayor until Oct. 1, the scheduled day of the provincial election.

She told reporters Tuesday she has the support system in place that will allow herto both campaign and run the borough.

She said she isn't worried that people who elected her just over 100 days ago will be upset with her decision, adding thatshe believes shecan achieve more for her constituents as anMNA.

"I did a good job, because the people voted for me and I am very involved in what I'm doing, I believe in what I'm doing, I know the issues on the territory and I want to work to find the real solutions," she said.

Major issues in the area, she said, include public transit she said the Liberals have forgotten about the east end when it comes to transit.

"We have a star. Chantal Rouleau is a star in Montreal. She knows Montreal better than any [one]who can pretend to represent Pointe-aux-Trembles," he said.

First elected as borough mayor in 2010, she was formerly a member of Vision Montral but she switched over to Coderre's team before the 2013 election.

She served as the executive committee member responsible for water infrastructure in the Coderre administration.

Ready for a fight

Recent polling data suggests Pointe-aux-Trembles is one of the CAQ's best chances to gain a much sought-after foothold in Montreal.

Voters in Pointe-aux-Trembles have elected thePartiQubcoissince the riding's creation in 1989.

Since the 2003 election, the PQ has garnered at least 50per cent of the vote in the riding in every election.

He will face off against Maxime Laporte, president of the sovereignistgroup,the Socit Saint-Jean-Baptiste,for the PQ nomination.

Last week, former premier Bernard Landry publicly endorsed Laporte's candidacy, saying he is "convinced of [Laporte's]abilities."

Laporte said Tuesday that he won't step aside, and intends to let PQ members choose who they want to represent the riding.