"World's Greatest Importance Holds for One's Legs"
Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante's Legacy: Greening the City
As her term closes in six months, Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante is setting her sights on the environment as her most significant legacy. Amid disappointed public transit projects, Plante urges her successor to keep the city focused on the climate crisis, warning against making decisions for political gain that would undo the progress made so far.
Henri Ouellette-Vezina, our site's contributor, noted, "When there's a crisis, especially one that affects our identity, like now, we tend to focus on immediate needs. However, the next administration's role will be to remind us that the climate crisis isn't stopping, and time is running out," Plante told La Presse.
Her warning comes on the heels of the fourth Montreal Climate Summit, an initiative established by Plante's administration in 2022. Each year, the summit is a forum for making commitments that push the city towards a greener future.
In 2023, the city pledged to make Old Montreal a pedestrian-centric zone and introduced a commitment that all new constructions must be "zero emission" starting in 2025. Plante is particularly proud of the over 350 soccer fields worth of land protected for ecological purposes since she took office, a tripling of the amount when she first started as mayor.
"People often talk to me about bike paths, but my record on fighting climate change is much more significant," Plante insists. "My most important legacy as mayor is the environment."
Despite disappointments in public transit development, such as the cancellation of the Lachine-Center Ville tramway project, Plante remains optimistic about the future, citing the arrival of the Quebec Mobility Infrastructure Agency as a positive sign. The agency is supposed to help reduce costs and delays for transportation projects.
On Tuesday, the Plante administration is set to announce a new goal: offering 11,000 electric vehicle charging stations on Montreal Island by 2030. The city plans to achieve this by installing municipal charging stations without waiting for Quebec funding and creating a program to help businesses electrify their vehicle fleets.
Plante is also preparing to announce the implementation of a "net zero artificialization" principle by 2030, which aims to balance the proportion of vegetal and permeable surfaces with mineral and impermeable surfaces to preserve the city's natural and built environment.
In addition to these initiatives, the Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, will announce an investment of $25.4 million in 12 municipal organizations for ecological projects on Tuesday. Montreal will receive the lion's share of the funding to help develop eco-friendly parking lots and green infrastructure for managing rainwater.
Other ecological advances will be unveiled at the Climate Summit, such as Concordia University's agreement with Hydro-Québec and Énergir to implement a new sustainable energy network on the Loyola campus, which aims to provide heating and air conditioning to about thirty buildings.
Valerie Plante's administration has made green urban development and circular economy strategies central to Montreal's climate resilience efforts. Key initiatives include extensive bike lanes, decontaminated land redevelopment, and advocacy for climate adaptation funding and policy changes. The city's focus on these areas could set a precedent for other cities, positioning Montreal as a leader in sustainable urban development, though ongoing challenges like infrastructure strain will require ongoing adaptation and innovation.
- Montreal's Mayor Valerie Plante warns her successor to prioritize the climate crisis, citing the urgency of time running out and the implications for the city's future.
- The Montreal Climate Summit, an initiative led by Mayor Plante's administration, is a forum for making commitments that push the city towards a greener future.
- In 2023, Montreal pledged to make Old Montreal a pedestrian-centric zone, introduce a commitment that all new constructions must be "zero emission" from 2025, and protect over 350 soccer fields worth of land for ecological purposes since Plante took office.
- The city aims to offer 11,000 electric vehicle charging stations on Montreal Island by 2030, and plans to achieve this by installing municipal charging stations and creating a program to help businesses electrify their vehicle fleets.
- On Tuesday, the Plante administration will announce the implementation of a "net zero artificialization" principle by 2030, which aims to balance the proportion of vegetal and permeable surfaces with mineral and impermeable surfaces.
- As part of their green urban development efforts, the Plante administration has partnered with Concordia University, Hydro-Québec, and Énergir to implement a new sustainable energy network on the Loyola campus, providing heating and air conditioning to about thirty buildings.
