Montreal's Ruling Party Challenges Narrow Election Defeats
Projet Montréal has officially launched challenges against four extremely close election results from the November 2, 2025 municipal vote, requesting judicial recounts in races decided by mere dozens of votes. The party announced Monday it will file formal requests with the Court of Quebec on Wednesday, citing concerns about public confidence in the electoral process following an election marked by low voter turnout and reported mishaps.
The Contested Races and Their Implications
In the most significant challenge, Projet Montréal incumbent Maja Vodanovic lost the Lachine borough mayor race to Ensemble Montréal's Julie-Pascale Provost by only 26 votes, with 289 ballots rejected. Vodanovic had held the position since 2017, making this narrow defeat particularly consequential for the borough's leadership.
Another critical contest involves the Ville-Marie borough's Saint-Jacques district, where Projet Montréal's Robert Beaudry fell short by just 13 votes against Ensemble Montréal's Claude Pinard. The outcome carries extra significance since Pinard has been selected as mayor-elect Soraya Martinez Ferrada's second-in-command at city hall. Beaudry, first elected in 2017, held important executive committee positions overseeing homelessness and other key files during Projet Montréal's previous mandates.
The party is also challenging two other razor-thin results: the Lachine city councillor race where Myriam Grondin lost by eight votes, and the Jacques-Brizard district borough councillor seat in Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève where Guillaume Côté lost by 11 votes.
Electoral Uncertainty and Broader Context
In its official statement, Projet Montréal explained that "in all of these elections, Projet Montréal has been informed of several concerns that may affect public confidence in the results." The party specifically noted the election occurred during challenging circumstances, including Montreal's ongoing public transit strike that likely contributed to low voter turnout, along with various media reports of electoral process irregularities.
Meanwhile, in a separate development highlighting the extraordinary closeness of this election cycle, the suburb of Montréal-Est resolved a tied vote through random draw. Julie Larivée was declared the winner for the District 1 councillor seat after both she and candidate Audrey Bordeleau received exactly 81 votes. A judicial recount confirmed the tie, necessitating the draw under Quebec's municipal election laws.
Ensemble Montréal had not responded to requests for comment by Monday regarding whether they would also seek any recounts. The coming days will determine whether these judicial recounts could shift the balance in some of Montreal's closest electoral contests.
