Municipal election in Quebec, Canada
The 2024 Gatineau mayoral by-election was held on June 9, 2024, to elect the 23rd mayor of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, to serve the remainder of the 2021 to 2025 term following the resignation of mayor France Bélisle, who resigned effective immediately on February 22, 2024, citing a toxic political environment and death threats.
Maude Marquis-Bissonnette of Action Gatineau won the election with 41.7 percent of the vote. She will be the first mayor of modern Gatineau to be elected in a by-election and the first since Guy Lacroix's by-election victory in 1994 following the resignation of Robert Labine.
Background.
Resignation of France Bélisle and subsequent vacancy.
Bélisle was first elected in the 2021 mayoral election, becoming the first female mayor of Gatineau. She called for a press conference on February 22, 2024, to discuss her future in politics. At the conference, which saw Mike Duggan, city councillor for Pointe-Gatineau District as the only other elected official in attendance, she announced that she would not be forming a municipal political party nor team and that she would be resigning as mayor effective immediately. Reactions from Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, Sherbrooke Mayor Évelyne Beaudin, and Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, among others, came in praising Bélisle for her openness and resilience, while some noted their sadness with the situation. Daniel Champagne, the incumbent city councillor for Versant District who was appointed as deputy mayor just days prior, was appointed to serve as mayor in accordance with the "Cities and Towns Act".
Rumours of a new party.
As early as 2022, there have been rumours of a second political party forming in Gatineau ahead of the 2025 municipal election. This stems from arguments from Independent city councillors and commentators about the advantages that Action Gatineau has as a political party compared to candidates without party affiliation. The first of these rumblings came from city councillor for Buckingham District Edmond Leclerc, who in October 2022 mused with the idea of creating a political party alongside fellow city councillor Steven Boivin. In addition, then-Mayor Bélisle mused with the idea of forming a political party prior to her resignation from the mayoralty. Former city councillor and the daughter of former mayor Marc Bureau, Audrey Bureau, was rumoured to be considering forming her own political party ahead of a potential candidacy in the by-election prior to her bowing out.
By-election process.
As Bélisle resigned with more than 12 months left in her term, according to the "Act Respecting Elections and Referendums in Municipalities", a by-election must be held to replace her. The by-election must occur within four months of the notice of vacancy, within which the city clerk, who acts as chief electoral officer in municipal elections in Gatineau, must fix a Sunday as the by-election date. Candidates who are members of the city council at the time of filing their candidacy must also resign their position in order to run in the by-election.
On February 27, 2024, city clerk Véronique Denis announced that the by-election would occur on June 9, 2024, and that advance voting would occur on June 2. The candidate nomination period will take place from April 26 to May 10. The city clerk's office estimated that the by-election would cost upwards of $2 million dollars.
Candidates.
Declared.
Rémi Bergeron.
Rémi Bergeron is a high school teacher who was the general manager of Bowman, Quebec from 2016 to 2018 and a candidate for mayor in the 2017 and 2021 mayoral elections.
Party affiliation: Independent
Candidacy announced: April 12, 2024
Candidacy registered: May 9, 2024
Campaign slogan (French): Des solutions pour vous
Campaign slogan (English; unofficial): Solutions for you
Stéphane Bisson.
Stéphane Bisson is a real estate broker who previously served as the President of the Gatineau Chamber of Commerce from 2021 to 2024, when he resigned to ensure no conflicts of interest arose while he was considering running for Mayor.
Party affiliation: Independent
Candidacy announced: March 27, 2024
Candidacy registered: April 26, 2024
Campaign website: 
Campaign slogan (French): Ensemble pour notre ville
Campaign slogan (English): Together for our city
Yves Ducharme.
Yves Ducharme, 65, is a consultant and businessman who was the Mayor of Gatineau from 2002 to 2005, and Mayor of Hull from 1992 to 2001. Prior to entering the race, he was the Director of Commercial Development for Brigil, and was a candidate for the federal Liberal nomination in Hull—Aylmer in 2015.
Party affiliation: Independent
Candidacy announced: April 12, 2024
Candidacy registered: May 8, 2024
Campaign website: 
Campaign slogan (French): L'expérience d'agir
Campaign slogan (English): Experience of action
Daniel Feeny.
Daniel Feeny is a marketing expert who served as the spokesperson and Director of Communications and Intergovernmental Relations for former Mayor France Bélisle from 2021 to 2024. Prior to entering politics, he was the director of marketing for the National Capital Commission and a manager at the Department of Canadian Heritage in the Government of Canada.
Party affiliation: Independent
Candidacy announced: March 18, 2024
Candidacy registered: May 10, 2024
Campaign website: 
Campaign slogan (French): Branché sur Gatineau!
Campaign slogan (English): Connected on Gatineau!
Olive Kamanyana.
Olive Kamanyana is the former city councillor for the Carrefour-de-l'Hôpital District, having been elected in the 2021 municipal election. She was also the 2018 provincial Coalition Avenir Quebec candidate in Pontiac. Prior to entering politics, Kamanyana was a researcher, holding a PhD in Applied Social Sciences from Université du Québec en Outaouais and an MA and BA from Université Laval.
Party affiliation: Independent
Candidacy announced: March 4, 2024
Candidacy registered: May 4, 2024
Campaign website: 
Campaign slogan (French): Pour un leadership rassembleur
Campaign slogan (English; unofficial): For leadership that brings people together
Maude Marquis-Bissonnette.
Maude Marquis-Bissonnette is a university professor who was the runner-up in the 2021 Gatineau municipal election. She was the leader of Action Gatineau from April–December 2021 until she resigned following her loss; she was also the city councillor for Plateau District from 2017 to 2021. After leaving politics, she became an associate professor at the École nationale d’administration publique.
Party affiliation: Action Gatineau
Candidacy announced: April 10, 2024
Candidacy registered: April 26, 2024
Campaign website: 
Campaign slogan (French): Je vote Maude!
Campaign slogan (English; unofficial): I'm voting Maude!
Mathieu Saint-Jean.
Mathieu Saint-Jean is a customer service expert who was the People's Party candidate in Gatineau in 2021.
Party affiliation: Independent
Candidacy announced: March 16, 2024
Candidacy registered: April 26, 2024
Campaign website: 
Campaign slogan (French): Bâtir Gatineau!
Campaign slogan (English; unofficial): Build Gatineau!
Withdrawn.
Jacques Bélanger.
Jacques Bélanger is a businessman and entrepreneur who is the owner of Top Karting, a go-kart track in the Hull sector. His campaign was endorsed by councillor Mike Duggan prior to his withdrawal from the race.
Party affiliation: Independent
Candidacy announced: March 11, 2024
Candidacy withdrawn: April 18, 2024
Endorsed: Yves Ducharme
Campaign slogan (French): Une vision. Une grande ville.
Campaign slogan (English; unofficial): One vision. One great city.
Campaign.
The period prior to the campaign had been marred by various issues, particularly due to the abundance of independent candidates declaring their intent to run for the office, that there would be enough vote-splitting to allow the candidate for Action Gatineau, Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, to win the mayoralty. This ended up being the reason why certain candidates chose not to enter the race, including former 2017 mayoral candidate Sylvie Goneau. Suggestions that there be an alliance formed among candidates have been quashed, with only Jacques Bélanger suggesting that he would be open to the idea of allying with another candidate who could see eye-to-eye with him on the issues that are affecting the city. Bélanger would later drop out and rally behind Yves Ducharme.
References.
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