Éric Alan Caldwell

Éric Alan Caldwell is a politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He has served on the Montreal city council since 2013, representing the Hochelaga division as a member of Projet Montréal. In November 2017, he was appointed to the Montreal executive committee (i.e., the municipal cabinet) by new mayor Valérie Plante.

Éric Alan Caldwell
Member of the Montreal Executive Committee with responsibility for urban planning, transit, and Montreal's office of public consultation
Incumbent
Assumed office 2017
Preceded by	Russell Copeman (urban planning and public consultation), Aref Salem (transit)
Montreal City Councillor for Hochelaga
Incumbent
Assumed office 2013
Preceded by	vacant, previously Laurent Blanchard
Personal details
Political party	Projet Montréal

By virtue of holding his position on city council, Caldwell also serves on the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough council.

Early life and private career

Caldwell was raised in Sainte-Edwidge-de-Clifton, a small community in Quebec's Estrie region. When he was first inaugurated as a Montreal city councillor in 2013, he was quoted as saying, "I grew up in a village where there was a strong tradition of democracy, so for me this is a very solemn ceremony."[1] He moved to Montreal in 2001 and has degrees in cinematography and economics from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).[2][3][4]

Political career

Caldwell first sought election to city council in the 2005 municipal election, when he ran for borough mayor of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and placed third against Vision Montreal candidate Lyn Thériault Faust. He later ran for the Hochelaga city council seat in the 2009 election and finished second against Vision candidate Laurent Blanchard. Over the next four years, he attended borough council meetings on a regular basis and, as a citizen, proposed a number of policy initiatives.[5]

Montreal city councillor

Caldwell was elected to council on his third attempt, defeating Blanchard (who was by this time serving as Montreal's interim mayor) for the Hochelaga seat in the 2013 election. Project Montréal became the official opposition on city council after the election, and Caldwell was chosen in early 2014 as his party's critic for citizen services and Space for Life.[6] He was also appointed to Montreal's Commission sur le schéma d'aménagement et de développement de Montréal (Commission on the Land Use and Development Plan) in the same year.[7]

In June 2015, Caldwell was appointed as a Project Montréal representative on the Commission sur le développement économique et urbain et l'habitation (Commission on Economic and Urban Development and Housing). He initially received this position on an interim basis, filling in for Peter McQueen, who was then seeking election to the House of Commons of Canada.[8] Ultimately, however, he served on the committee until the 2017 election.[9]

During his first term on council, Caldwell fought for the Montreal Botanical Gardens to revert to its previous policy of allowing free access outside of operating hours,[10] promoted self-service carsharing in Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve,[11] took part in the preparation of the borough's éco-quartier environmental plan,[12] and sought to protect natural areas in Pierrefonds-Ouest against a proposed housing development scheme.[13] In July 2016, Caldwell and borough mayor Réal Ménard (who were not generally political allies) announced the creation of a new public space in the borough called Le patio culturel.[14]

Caldwell was elected to a second term on council in the 2017 municipal election, which was won by Projet Montréal. Following the election, new mayor Valérie Plante appointed Caldwell to her executive committee with responsibility for urban planning, transit, and Montreal's office of public consultation.[15]

Electoral record

2017 Montreal municipal election: Councillor, Hochelaga
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Projet Montréal	Éric Alan Caldwell (incumbent)	7,326	71.49	+36.31
	Équipe Denis Coderre	Jean-François Beaupre	2,922	28.51	+15.67
Total valid votes			10,248	100
Total rejected ballots			266
Turnout			10,514	43.06
Electors on the lists			24,419
Source: Election results, 2017, City of Montreal.

2013 Montreal municipal election: Councillor, Hochelaga
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Projet Montréal	Éric Alan Caldwell	3,408	35.18	+5.61
	Coalition Montréal	Laurent Blanchard (incumbent mayor)	2,739	28.28	−29.08
	Vrai changement	Mikael St-Pierre	2,013	20.78
	Équipe Denis Coderre	Patrick Charbonneau	1,244	12.84
	Independent	Nicole Donnelly	282	2.91
Total valid votes			9,686	97.06
Total rejected ballots			293	2.94
Turnout			9,979	42.01	+4.44
Electors on the lists			23,755
Source: Election results, 2013, City of Montreal.

2009 Montreal municipal election: Councillor, Hochelaga
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Vision Montreal	Laurent Blanchard (incumbent)	4,965	57.36	+10.90
	Projet Montréal	Éric Alan Caldwell	2,560	29.57	+12.03
	Union Montreal	Louis Cléroux	1,131	13.07	−22.94
Total valid votes			8,656	96.73
Total rejected ballots			293	3.27
Turnout			8,949	37.57
Electors on the lists			23,817
Source: Election results, 2009, City of Montreal.

2005 Montreal municipal election: Borough mayor, Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Vision Montreal	Lyn Thériault Faust (incumbent councillor)	15,130	48.07
	Citizens Union	Pierre Bélanger	13,079	41.56
	Projet Montréal	Éric Alan Caldwell	3,263	10.37
Total valid votes			31,472	100
Source: City of Montreal official results (in French), City of Montreal.

References

1. René Bruemmer, "Coderre promises 'new era' for Montreal as he is sworn into office," Montreal Gazette, 15 November 2013, A7.
2. Arnold Stopa, "Éric Alan Caldwell souhaite un deuxième mandat", Nouvelles Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, 24 July 2017, accessed 15 December 2017.
3. "Meet the Executive Committee," Montreal Gazette, 21 November 2017, A3.
4. Éric Alan Caldwell, Projet Montréal biography, accessed 15 December 2017.
5. Rene Bruemmer, "Getting acquainted with the newly elected," Montreal Gazette, 7 November 2013, A4.
6. "Projet Montréal unveils shadow cabinet for city hall" [party press release], Postmedia Breaking News, 7 January 2014.
7. "Consultation publique sur le Projet de schéma d'aménagement et de développement de l'agglomération de Montréal" [party press release], Canada NewsWire, 7 October 2014.
8. "Peter McQueen siégera désormais comme élu indépendant" [party press release] Canada NewsWire, 23 June 2015.
9. Éric Alan Caldwell, Projet Montréal biography, accessed 15 December 2017.
10. "Projet Montréal demande la réouverture gratuite du Jardin botanique en dehors des heures d'ouverture de la billetterie" [party press release] Canada NewsWire, 10 June 2014.
11. "Déploiement d'Auto-mobile dans trois arrondissements : il est urgent que la Ville autorise l'autopartage en libre-service" [party press release], Canada NewsWire, 13 April 2015.
12. "Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve poursuit ses orientations en développement durable avec son nouveau programme Éco-quartier!" [borough press release], Canada NewsWire, 26 March 2015.
13. "Projet Montréal demande à l'administration Coderre de protéger les espaces naturels de Pierrefonds-Ouest" [party press release], Canada NewsWire, 16 February 2016; Linda Gyulai, "Opposition growing to Pierrefonds housing project," Montreal Gazette, 17 February 2016, A6; "Développement de Pierrefonds-Ouest : les conclusions sont écrites d'avance" [party press release], 13 March 2017; "Projet Montréal wants to create the first urban national park on the island of Montreal" [press release], Canada NewsWire, 2 May 2017. See also Kathryn Greenaway, "30-km walk focuses on protecting nature park; Proposed development 'will disrupt' l'Anse-à-l'Orme's ecosystem: student," Montreal Gazette, 15 June 2016, D5.
14. "Projet pilote estival de piétonnisation et de diffusion culturelle - Un Patio culturel aménagé pour l'été entre la bibliothèque et la maison de la culture Maisonneuve!" [borough press release], Canada NewsWire, 21 July 2016.
15. "Gender parity but little diversity in Valérie Plante's executive committee", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 20 November 2017, accessed 15 December 2017.