Vaillancourt wins sixth straight term as Laval mayor

By Silvet Ali
It came as no surprise that Gilles Vaillancourt won his sixth term as mayor election night November 1st, as the Parti PRO des Lavallois garnered approximately 61 per cent of the vote in the city’s 21 electoral districts out of a total 97 965 ballots cast.
The landslide victory was a huge success for Vaillancourt and his team and he expressed his appreciation to voters and supporters at City Hall following the official announcement of the win Sunday night.  “Since last spring, we’ve met with many citizens in the course of the campaign and we listened to them and exchanged ideas about what the future of Laval should be,” stated the 68 year old mayor. “We will continue to proceed with our efforts to provide Lavallers with an exceptional quality of life. I thank you all.”
Election night
The mayor’s PRO des Lavallois team continues to dominate the city council as well, with all 21 electoral districts going to the mayor’s party, despite heavy competition from political rivals Mouvement Lavallois and Parti au Service du Citoyen. Mayoral race candidates Lydia Aboulian and Robert Bordeleau came in second and third place, garnering 23 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. Since 2001, Vaillancourt’s administration has sat without opposition in City Hall.

Following the official announcement of the win at around 10 p.m. election night, the mayor and his team made their way to Sheraton Hotel for a political rally where hundreds of supporters cheered on and celebrated past midnight. Once again, Vaillancourt expressed his gratitude and vowed to continue working with citizens’ best interest at heart. “Today Lavallers chose who they wished to see as their city’s administration for the next four years,” he said. “This democratic exercise clearly showcased that our administration responds to the needs of its citizens.”

The road ahead
Although the mayor feels vindicated with the success of the election campaign, the hard work still lies ahead as he faces another four-year term leading Quebec’s third-largest city. Vaillancourt will begin working on promises made during the election which included an electric-bus system, a new 8,500 seat sports complex, and state of the art composting facility. A metro expansion study announced by the Quebec government back in September which involved a looking into a second link from Cote-Vertu metro to Laval was discussed as well.
This election welcomes three new city council members who will be taking the place of three outgoing councillors. Martine Beaugrand of Fabreville, Claire LeBel of Concorde-Bois-de-Boulogne, and France Dubreuil of L'Orée des Bois, will be replacing three members of the Parti PRO des Lavallois who opted to retire from politics.
Despite reports that the public's lack of enthusiasm concerning the municipal elections with only 35 per cent coming out to vote gave the long-time mayor an advantage, Vaillancourt remains confident regarding the win. “I presented a good team, the best team, composed of people with talents and competence,” he stated.  “We presented our program to the public, placed the decision in the public’s hands, and today, they made their decision.”