OttawaThe municipal election campaign is officially underway in Gatineau, Que., with communities across the province preparing to head to the polls on Nov. 2. Voters will head to the polls in early NovemberEmma Weller · CBC News · Posted: Sep 20, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoElection season is officially underway in Gatineau, Que., with Friday marking the start of municpal election campaigns in communities across the province. (Michel Aspirot/CBC)The municipal election campaign is officially underway in Gatineau, Que., with communities across the province preparing to head to the polls on Nov. 2. In Gatineau, two political parties are going head-to-head. Mayor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette with Action Gatineau is seeking a second term, while Team Mario Aubé — a new party — will be challenging her. Marquis-Bissonnette took office in June 2024, winning the by-election held after the unexpected resignation of France Bélisle months before. “We’ve done a lot in 15 months, almost. I think we said that we would find solutions for problems we had in Gatineau, [and] that’s what we did,” she said Friday.”We need to do more as well, to make sure that we leave no one behind, that we remain a very inclusive city.”Marquis-Bissonnette said while the housing crisis, homelessness and infrastructure — specifically roadways — are her top priorities, the financing to find solutions are limited. “We will be campaigning, there proposing solutions, talking about our ideas… meeting people directly. I’ve been doing that since I was elected mayor and I will [continue doing] that.”Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, centre, smiles as she’s congratulated by supporters in June 2024. Marquis-Bissonnette won Gatineau’s mayoral byelection that was called after former mayor France Bélisle resigned earlier that year. (Olivier Plante/Radio-Canada)Aubé, the current councillor for the Masson-Angers district in the city’s east end, is also making a mayoral bid.After spending decades working in the media industry, Aubé has “chosen to take a more active role in politics,” according to his party’s website.Aubé said he plans to focus on the “basic things” in Gatineau as he campaigns over the next month-plus.”Snow plowing [and] garbage, the state of the road …we have to take care of our infrastructure in Gatineau,” Aubé said.Masson-Angers Coun. Mario Aubé will be running for mayor as part of his new political party, Team Mario Aubé. (Alexandra Angers/Radio-Canada )About 8,000 municipal positions will be up for election on Nov. 2 in some 1,100 municipalities, according to Quebec government data.Candidates seeking to run for office have until Oct. 3 to submit their applications. Advance voting will take place on Oct. 26, one week before election day.ABOUT THE AUTHOREmma Weller is a reporter for CBC Ottawa and she’s also worked with CBC’s Your World Tonight. She can be reached at emma.weller@cbc.ca. With files from Patrick Foucault
Election campaigns kick off in Gatineau
