For voters in some Quebec municipalities, another election looms

Whether they like it or not, the residents of Baie-Comeau, Que., and the Magdalens Islands will be going back to the polls within the next four months.

Both Jonathan Lapierre, the mayor of the Magdalen Islands municipality, and Yves Montigny, the mayor of Baie-Comeau, are leaving their functions.

Montigny is about to join the Coalition Avenir Québec caucus at the National Assembly, having been elected in the René-Lévesque riding.

Lapierre, who lost his try for a seat in the legislature to incumbent Joël Arseneau of the Parti Québécois, said after the defeat that he was ready for a change. He has been involved in municipal politics for 17 years.

"It's time for me to think about my future," he said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. "I'm now going to take a few days to think about myself and my next challenge."

"One thing is for sure, I deeply love our islands and nothing will change that feeling."

Magdalen Islands resident Ariane Castonguay Arsenault says she is disappointed to see Lapierre go.

"Many people liked what he was doing, he knew his files very well," she said. "I think he did a good job, especially during the pandemic."

But for now, a municipal election is the last thing on her mind.

Castonguay Arsenault owns an artisanal soap shop, La Fille de la Mer, that suffered more than $100,000 of damages during tropical storm Fiona. Her focus for now is figuring out how to apply for the federal recovery funding package.

"I've spent the last week packing boxes, cleaning out, moving furniture and now I'm just done emptying my shop," she said.

She's also concerned about the expense of yet another election.

The community is already facing a lot of costly repairs in the aftermath of the storm, she said. "Add to that the price of having another election after one year, that's a lot of money that's going to be needed."

A loss and a win

Baie-Comeau resident Stephen Kohner said Montigny's departure from city hall was a big loss for the town but a win for the region as a whole.

"People are certainly going to miss him," he said. "He's extremely popular and popular for all the good reasons."

Kohner said Montigny has made a profound impact in the community and is the kind of guy who takes "two to three hours to do his groceries because everybody will stop and talk to him."

Montigny will have less time to spend talking to his neighbours as he will have to travel to and from Quebec City and visit constituents scattered across his riding which, at almost 52,000 square kilometres, is one of the largest in the province.

"You're not necessarily the same person being a mayor as you are being an MNA," said Kohner.

Montigny will have to deal with a lot more government bureaucracy than he was used to having at a municipal office, he said.

He won't be able to meet with community groups as quickly or easily as when he was mayor, and he will have to "represent the views of the CAQ, which are sometimes not the views of the people in the riding," Kohner said.

"The learning curve is going to be very, very steep for him."

Still, Kohner says he is confident his mayor will do well because he is a good communicator and is very knowledgeable about the issues in the region.

"I think most of the people around here are extremely hopeful that finally we have an MNA who's in the seat of the government," he said. "Maybe [the ministers] will have a better ear to our pressing needs."

Once Lapierre and Montigny officially submit their resignations, the municipalities will have 30 days to set an election date.

Depending on when that happens, Baie-Comeau and Magdalen Islands residents will be voting for their new mayors in February or March next year.