Gérald Tremblay

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This article is about the Québécois politician. For the lawyer of this name, see Gérald R. Tremblay.

Gérald Tremblay.

Gérald Tremblay (born September 20, 1942 in Ottawa) is a Canadian (Québécois) politician currently serving his second term as mayor of the City of Montreal (French: Ville de Montréal) and as president of the Metropolitan Community of Montreal (French: Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal). Before becoming mayor he had a long career in business and provincial politics. Born in Ottawa, Gérald Tremblay grew up in Montreal. He was admitted to the Québec Bar after receiving a law degree from the Universite de Montreal in 1970, and he later received an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He was in senior management in several financial institutions in Québec until 1989, when he was elected to the National Assembly and served as Minister of Industry, Commerce, Science and Technology until 1994, in the government of Robert Bourassa.

From 1994 until his election as mayor in 2001, he was a successful entrepreneur, setting up a chain of specialty boutiques called Dans un Jardin which sold mostly perfume, but also jam, and other small delicacies. He was also on the board of directors of several corporations.

Tremblay ran for mayor of Montreal after the controversial merging of the municipalities that made up the MUC (Montreal Urban Community) into one single city spanning the entire island of Montreal, which caused then-mayor Pierre Bourque, who was associated with orchestrating the merger, to call an election. Tremblay's municipal political party was (and is) known as the Montreal Island Citizens Union, and his election campaign was based on re-evaluating the merger, and decentralizing the city structure. On November 6 2005, Gérald Tremblay won his second term in office, easily winning against long-time rival Pierre Bourque by 74,646 votes. The voter turn-out estimated at 39.13% was the lowest ever in the history of the Montreal municipal elections. See Quebec municipal elections, 2005.

In the 2001 election, Tremblay campaigned as the defender of towns and cities being forcibly merged into a new Island-wide city of Montreal, and received a great deal of support from opponents of the merger. However, in the subsequent referendum on the question of demerger, he was accused of betraying his supporters by coming out strongly in favour of the "no" side, supporting the megacity.

Since he took office, Tremblay has streamlined the city's operations but also generated controversy in some quarters. While his administration improved public consultation mechanisms, it is also considered by many to be one of the most secretive administrations in Montreal history, causing some to declare that the democratic deficit has grown during his tenure despite improvements to consultation. His administration also attempted a radical decentralization of the city by giving more power to the boroughs, but at the same time has come under attack by suburban mayors who decry his clear preference for Montreal to receive a much larger share of the island's tax revenues than it would have before the merger. However, many argue that these boroughs are even less responsive to the public than City Hall, since they are not required to offer public consultations on their decisions. Nevertheless, the public can (and sometimes does) force referenda on particular bylaw proposals.

Tremblay has more recently received criticism for his proposal to change the name of Avenue du Parc to Avenue Robert-Bourassa, in honour of former Quebec premier Robert Bourassa, without public consultation.[1] The proposal was approved by City Council in a vote on 29 November 2006.[2] Much of the criticsm of the proposal has also come from the residents and businesses who inhabit Avenue du Parc. In an e-mail, when Tremblay's communications director dismissed these critics as "neo-Montrealers," many interpreted this term as an insulting reference to the immigrant communities which have settled in or around Avenue du Parc for over a century.[3] On 6 February, 2007, Mayor Tremblay backed away from his position on Avenue du Parc after losing the support of Robert Bourassa's family. In a press conference on the issue, the mayor (in office for six years) claimed to "have learned that the opinion of citizens is important."

Tremblay generally keeps to himself, and is known for avoiding the media.