With Denis Coderre out, what's next for the party named after him?

Members of quipe Denis Coderre are searching for answers and a new identity, now that theman who formed the party has announced, in defeat, thathe's quitting municipal politics.

Denis Coderre made it clear last night he won't be sticking around after his historic loss to Valrie Plante, the leader of Projet Montral.

"I want to say I am leaving with my head high, that Montreal is an exceptional city, that Montreal is a metropolis that is the envy of the world," he told supporters in Sunday's concession speech.

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But while Coderre is out, representatives of his former party will still have a significant presence on city council, with 25 of 65 seats. (Projet Montralwon a slim majority, with a total of 34).

Much can be expectedtochange, of course, starting with the party's name.

Shifting allegiances

On Monday, party members were not yetclearabout what the new opposition will look like.

Several haven't ruled out joining or working withProjet Montral.

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"If the idea is good and it makes sense, people will look at it and kick it hard," said Alan DeSousa, who won another term as mayor of Saint-Laurent running under quipe Coderre.

DeSousasaid the election result "was and is a surprise."

Coderrewas a polarizing figure, he said, whounderestimated the simmering anger over issues likethe city's traffic woes.

"That being said, I think if he were to do it again he would run a different campaign, that was more forward-looking," he told CBC Montreal's Daybreak.

'One-man rule'

Coderre, a former Liberal MP and cabinet minister,was viewed by many as an uncompromising partisan during his time at city hall. It was rare, the opposition often noted,for members of Coderre's team to vote against him.

Marvin Rotrand,leader of Coalition Montral and a councillor for Snowdon, has been critical of the fact that no one in Coderre's own party would "stand up to him."

The election was essentially a "referendum on DenisCoderre," Rotrandsaid, adding that voters made it clear "they don't like one-man rule."

He pointed out that all 11 councillors and borough mayorswho switched allegiances to run under Coderre, including Russell Copeman in Cte-des-NeigesNotre-Dame-de-Grce,ended up losing.

Rotrandsuggested the result could be interpreted as an indictment of the municipal political party system altogether.

Coderre'sparty wasn't the only one to get a shakeup.

Rotrandwas the only candidate from his party to win a seat on Sunday.

VraichangementpourMontral, the party created by federal Heritage Minister Mlanie Joly, who lost her mayoral bid to Coderre in 2013, was entirely wiped off the map.

Opposition yet to be determined

Marc-Antoine Desjardins, a failed candidate who ran under Coderre'sbannerin the riding of Jeanne-Mance, suggested that a strong opposition will emerge, in one form or another.

"Some will probably join them, some won't, some will leave, you never know, there will be some byelections here and there I guess," he said.

"Trust me. There will be another option in four years. You can mark my words."