Montreal | Low participation rate ahead?
The figures released on Sunday in Montreal, at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m., suggest a low participation rate in the municipal elections. But several citizens met by The Press in front of the polling stations reiterated their motivation to slip their ballot into the ballot box.
At 4 p.m. on Sunday, Élections Montréal estimated the participation rate at 27% – or 10% more than at noon.
In 2021, the participation rate was 31.7% at 4 p.m. and 25.4% at noon. In 2017, we were talking about 31.5% at 4 p.m. and 16.7% at noon.
The final participation rate in the metropolis was 38.3% in 2021 and 42.5% in 2017.
The participation rate in the 2025 municipal elections could therefore confirm the downward trend observed in recent years. The two favorite candidates in the polls for Montreal were worried about this when they went to vote on Sunday, urging citizens to vote.
By the numbers
The worst voter turnout in Montreal was observed in 1947. Barely 19% of voters showed up at the polls. It must be said that Mayor Camillien Houde was elected by acclamation, with no one running against him. Few Montrealers took the trouble to vote.
The municipal elections were marked by several pitfalls, between the Canada Post strike, then that of the STM, which could possibly have had an impact on participation rates.
Despite everything, the voters met by The Press showed an unwavering motivation to vote.
“I am here to do my duty as a citizen,” said Guillaume Fernandez Gervais, a young father who came to vote around 10:30 a.m. in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough accompanied by his 2 and a half year old daughter, Constance. “For me, the municipal elections are important, because they directly concern us. It’s more concrete, more accessible. »
For his part, Alex Fajardo emigrated to Canada 7 years ago. A Canadian citizen for only a year, he came to vote as a family for the first time for the municipal elections in Hochelaga with his partner, Ashley Klassin, his mother-in-law and his two children, Leo, 4 years old, and Emy, 3 months.
“The City faces many challenges. We need change,” he said.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Citizens prepare to vote at Baril school, in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district, in Montreal
The children, too, were very motivated to accompany their parents to slip their ballot into the ballot box at the “Petit Voting Office”, a fun activity which allows them to experience a simulated vote, to learn about democracy and understand the voting process.
“It gives us ideas for changing things,” tells us Jessy, 11, who is “perhaps” considering going into politics later.
In the metropolis, more than 450 polling places, spread across all districts of the city, are open this Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. to welcome voters.
According to Élections Montréal, during the early voting period, some 134,000 people have already exercised their right to vote, or 11.8% of the electorate.
Of the more than 1.1 million people eligible to vote in the metropolis, nearly 50,000 young people aged 18 to 21 will have the opportunity to cast municipal ballots in the ballot box for the very first time.
Read our article “Quebecers at the polls”
