As Action Laval states in a message from its mayoralty candidate in the party’s 2025 election platform, the city has undergone significant changes over its 60-year history, accompanied by sustained population growth in recent years.
“Unfortunately, the city has strayed from its mission,” says Frédéric Mayer, while maintaining that the City of Laval’s basic services have not kept pace with population growth and that “a realignment is necessary.”
Among the solutions, according to the party which has run candidates in three municipal elections since 2013, is to regain control of the city’s finances and return to the purpose of a municipality. In its platform, the party focuses on five themes.
Accountability and transparency: “We place accountability at the heart of municipal governance,” they state. “Every decision will be tracked with clear and visible metrics, including digital tools (e.g., QR codes on tax bills) that allow citizens to understand how resources are being used.”
Consultative management: “By actively listening to citizens and involving their representatives in the decision-making process, solutions that are adapted to the realities on the ground can be put in place.”
Balance: “Economic development must not come at the expense of the environment or quality of life. We want to revitalize neighborhoods and bring services – whether cultural, sporting, or administrative – closer to citizens.”
Decentralization: “Since the creation of the City of Laval, efforts have focused on unifying the former municipalities and creating a single service center. Major infrastructures have been developed in the downtown of the island in recent years, but the districts have been abandoned. We want to relocate municipal infrastructures and services within the districts, closer to the citizens.”
Innovation and modernity: The party suggests the city should “adopt smart and connected solutions to improve the efficiency of the administration and the quality of municipal services, while anticipating the challenges linked to climate change and demographic developments.”
In addition to these areas of interest, Action Laval thoroughly explores 10 more themes.
Environment and sustainable development
Among other things, the party suggests the city needs to invest in critical infrastructure like sewers to prevent backups during storms and snowmelts, that water management needs better support, that green spaces need to be protected and enhanced, that aconsolidation of agricultural land be completed, that waste should be managed and minimized, and that a “positive” approach should be adopted for combating urban heat islands,
Sports, Arts and Culture
Among the actions AL suggests it would take in this dossier if elected would be development of major infrastructures to support Laval’s soccer and basketball organizations, the installation of a training area for cyclists, investments in a range of easily accessible sports and cultural infrastructures in the districts, and implementation of a policy to support Laval’s athletes and artists in order to promote a sense of belonging.
Infrastructure and urban development
“Laval is facing a dual crisis: housing and the dilapidated state of its infrastructures,” states the AL’s platform summary. “The advanced state of deterioration of our water and sanitation networks is a major obstacle to the development of new residential projects.”
That said, Action Laval makes the following six suggestions to remedy these and other related problems: Prioritize an upgrade of critical infrastructure; Establish a support program for victims of Storm Debby; Support the development of affordable housing and access to home ownership; Reduce administrative barriers to development; Facilitate urban development in an integrated, sustainable and inclusive vision; And collaborate with developers to establish cost-sharing agreements for infrastructure associated with new housing.
Transport and mobility
“Mobility in Laval must be rethought to meet today’s realities,” they continue. What they suggest as solutions to transit issues if they are elected: Establish a moratorium on the development of cycle paths, in order to define a real active mobility strategy; Reduce the registration tax; Review the public transport network to optimize travel within the city; Represent and defend the interests of Laval residents with the provincial government, so that the Metro loop is completed; Review the snow strategy; And extend free bus transportation to students.
Urban planning
“Laval’s Urban Planning Code (CDU) is currently a real obstacle to our city’s development,” Action Laval believes. They suggest a complete review and simplification of the Urban Planning Code, in collaboration with citizens and developers; Define a new master plan for the development of the cycle network, with objectives and strategies adapted to each district, and a public consultation process; Reviewing the Laval street template guide; And accelerating permit approval times by reducing bureaucratic steps.
Public safety and quality of life
The party suggests the following actions to provide improvements in this dossier: Develop easily accessible sports and cultural infrastructure; Establish partnerships with leisure, cultural and sports organizations; And adapt Laval’s parks to provide spaces for seniors.
Citizen participation
To reverse declining public participation in elections and other democratic activities, Action Laval says that under its management, the city would adopt a consultative management approach, while also taking measures to ensure that citizens’ opinions have a real impact on decisions.
Elders
Taking into consideration the City of Laval’s aging population, AL makes the following four policy recommendations: Facilitate installation of more benches for seniors as needed; Create spaces in parks and woodlands to accommodate seniors and their activities; Adapt better road signaling that takes into account the presence of seniors; And make sure the STL provides service that takes into account seniors’ needs.
Intergovernmental coordination
Action Laval maintains that too often, the city has seen itself receiving “less than its just share” of federal and provincial investments, given Laval’s growing population and correspondingly increasing needs. They suggest the party would work to promote closer relations with the two higher governments if elected.
Animal Welfare
“Action Laval has always believed that the well-being of animals is an integral part of a modern, inclusive, and humane city,” says the party. As such, if elected, Action Laval would create a comprehensive and municipally-operated animal shelter, as well as an affordable pet sterilization program, among other proposals.
