Each morning on her commute from Montreal's east end to city hall, Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada passes the sprawling tent encampment on Notre-Dame Street. This daily visual serves as a stark and persistent reminder of the city's deepening homelessness crisis, an issue she has vowed to keep at the forefront of her administration's agenda.
A Daily Reminder and a Defining Priority
For the new mayor, the encampment is more than a cityscape feature; it is a symbol of the urgent work ahead. "It reminds me that it's my priority, and it's the priority that I set for this administration — to deliver on homelessness," Martinez Ferrada stated in an interview marking her first month in office. She expressed a hope for the day when the encampment is no longer necessary, a sign that meaningful progress has been made.
Now 53, Martinez Ferrada was sworn in as Montreal's mayor in mid-November 2025 after a decisive election victory that ended Projet Montréal's eight-year hold on city hall. Reflecting on the whirlwind transition, she described the period since announcing her candidacy in February as a "long, long roller-coaster."
Navigating Early Challenges and Building Relationships
Any hope for a gentle introduction to the role was quickly dispelled. Immediately after her election win, the mayor faced dual public transit strikes that threatened to paralyze the city. Her approach was one of direct engagement. She met with both sides and used her public platform to urge a resolution, an experience that underscored the influence of her new position. "What really struck me is the power of this place," she observed. "As mayor, you can do a lot by just talking to people."
In the weeks that followed, Martinez Ferrada focused on building crucial relationships. She hosted a series of meetings with key figures, including Quebec's ministers for municipal affairs and housing, as well as the mayors of Longueuil, Laval, and Gatineau. A mid-November meeting with Premier François Legault, however, highlighted a point of divergence.
During that visit, Premier Legault reiterated his stance that temporary immigration is a contributing factor to Montreal's housing and homelessness crises, a position challenged by many advocates. Asked if the comments made her uncomfortable, Mayor Martinez Ferrada — a former Chilean refugee and the first immigrant woman to lead Montreal — acknowledged that unplanned immigration can strain services.
"But she also cautioned against sweeping generalizations. "Immigrants can't hold all of the social issues of our city or province on their backs," the mayor said. "And that's where I probably differ from the premier."
Ambitious Plans and the Weight of Office
The mayor has set an ambitious agenda for her first 100 days, which includes replacing the city's 20-20-20 housing bylaw and conducting a review of the entire cycling network. She expressed confidence in meeting these goals, noting she has delegated specific tasks to members of the executive committee.
Yet, the immediacy of the homelessness emergency, especially with winter's arrival, has commanded her focus. She admitted that addressing the crisis at the municipal level is more complex than she initially thought as mayor-elect. However, she pointed to recent actions — like the creation of a crisis unit and the opening of emergency warming shelters during a cold snap — as signs of what can be achieved. "This was one very small thing in the whole spectrum of what we have to do," she said. "But it gives me hope in terms of what we can do."
On a personal level, Martinez Ferrada is adapting to the immense demands of the office. Her favourite part is engaging with hopeful Montrealers, while the hardest is the constant need to prioritize. Her city hall office remains sparsely decorated, but two framed artworks waiting to be hung speak volumes about her perspective.
One is a photograph from the 2019 Chilean protests, representing the "collective intelligence" of the people. The other is a painting by a local artist depicting an elderly woman in a Spider-Man costume, down on her luck on a sidewalk. The message, the mayor explained, is that anyone, even a superhero, can fall into homelessness. "It's such a powerful image," she said. "And it's going in my office, so everyone who comes in remembers what my priority is."
