How the Projet Montral 'wave' spread across the city

At 9:14 p.m. Sunday, when CBC projected Valrie Plante to be the winner of Montreal's municipal election the city's new mayor and the first woman elected to the postmembers of her party called it "the wave."

"We had two scenarios in mind," Plateau-Mont-Royal borough mayor Luc Ferrandez told Radio-Canada from the party's rowdy headquarters 20 minutes later.

"Either a Mr. Coderre win, which we hoped would be a minority or the wave.And it's the wave, so we're extremely happy."

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Whether Plante's victory could really be qualified as a wave is up for debate. It'sunclearwhether the win was a full endorsement of her and her platform, or simply a rejection of DenisCoderre.

What is clear is that ProjetMontral chipped away at Coderre'sbaseacross Montreal's 19 boroughs overthe last year.

It ran a relentless public relations campaign targeting Coderre's policies, latching onto public criticismof375thanniversary spending, the pit bull banand the lack of transparency resulting from the Formula E race.

Coderre lost steam in key boroughs

CBCNews has tracked, borough by borough, howMontrealersvotedcompared to the 2013municipal election.

The result shows a serious weakening in support for Coderre in the parts of the city that had overwhelmingly backed him when he was elected four years ago.

It also depicts the progress Projet Montral has made since, especially in those communities previously warm to Coderre.

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Both quipe Denis Coderre and Projet Montral votes show an increase in the charts because they were the two main competitors this time around. Last election, there were four.

Backing for Coderre faltered, notably in Rivire-des-PrairiesPointe-aux-Trembles, Saint-Lonard and Verdun, but alsoin Montreal North, where he's from.

ProjetMontralseized on an opportunity to build its brand there during a 2016 byelection it lost.

quipeDenis Coderre'sChristine Black was elected, replacing disgraced former Montreal North borough mayor Gilles Deguire, but Projetthrew its efforts into the borough.

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Plantehas visited it at least 10 times since she became the party leader last December, and shepicked a charismatic candidate dedicated to the community, former CFL playerBalarama Holness.

Sunday, Black won again with 66 per cent of the vote, but Projetwent from almost no votes in 2013 to 34 per cent in 2017.

Projetwon in boroughs where mayors switched over

Projet Montral carved more inroads in the West Island and southern parts of the city bywinning over borough mayors in those areas where it lacked reacha move that paid off.

Southwest borough mayor Benoit Dorais left Coalition Montral for Projet Montral at the end of May.

Days later, Projet recruited former journalist Sue Montgomery to run for the top spot in Cte-des-NeigesNotre-Dame-de-Grce.

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And later that month, L'le-Bizard-Sainte-Genevive borough mayor Normand Marinacci switched to the party from Vrai changement pour Montral, the party launched by the runner-up in the 2013 election, nowfederal Heritage Minister Mlanie Joly.

All three won their posts Sunday night.

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