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Summary

Almost half of Montrealers don't know who to vote for mayor, but one candidate is leading

Do you know who you're voting for?

Montreal City Hall. Right: A vote sticker.

While Montreal voters have already decided which name we'll tick off on the ballot, a large portion of the city still hasn't.

Meunierd| Dreamstime, Margoe Edwards| Dreamstime
Senior Writer

Montreal's next municipal election is just a few weeks away. And while many of us have already decided which name we'll tick off on the ballot, a large portion of the city still hasn't.

In fact, a newly released Léger/CTV survey shows that 42% of Montrealers either don't know who they'll vote for or declined to answer, leaving the race wide open as election day approaches on November 2.

The online poll, conducted between September 26 and 30 among 500 residents from various boroughs, offers the clearest snapshot yet of where voters stand. Results were weighted by region, age, gender, education, and household type. The margin of error is ±4.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The leading candidates

Among decided voters, Soraya Martinez Ferrada's Ensemble Montréal currently leads with 21% support, followed by Luc Rabouin's Projet Montréal at 12% and Craig Sauvé's Transition Montréal at 8%. Action Montréal sits at 7%, while Futur Montréal trails at 2%.

With Mayor Valérie Plante's term coming to an end, Rabouin has stepped in as the interim leader of Projet Montréal and is now running to keep the party in power.

Martinez Ferrada, a former federal minister, has emerged as his main challenger, while Sauvé is positioning Transition Montréal as a more community-focused alternative.

The poll also asked Montrealers which party they trust most on key issues. Ensemble Montréal ranked highest for managing city finances, services, and safety, while Projet Montréal performed better on environmental matters.

Voter priorities

A few other numbers hint at what could shape the campaign's final stretch:

  • 72% of Montrealers said housing is not affordable.
  • 63% said protecting French shouldn't be a top priority.
  • 38% believe defending the rights of English-speaking residents should be a priority.
  • 56% said continuing to invest in and expand the network of bike paths is a bad idea.

With less than a month to go before election day, nearly half of voters remain undecided, giving every candidate a chance to make their case before November 2.

If you're not yet familiar with who's running, you can catch up on the three main candidates and what they stand for here.

The full polling results are available on Leger360.com.

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    • Alexander Sciola
    • Born and raised in Montreal, Al Sciola is a Senior Writer for MTL Blog. With a background in covering sports and local events, he has a knack for finding stories that capture the city’s spirit. A lifelong Canadiens fan and trivia enthusiast, Al spends his downtime sipping espresso and trying out new recipes in the kitchen.

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