Chantal Rossi

Chantal Rossi is a politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She has served on the Montreal city council since 2013 as a member of Équipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal. She was previously a borough councillor in Montréal-Nord from 2009 to 2013 and an elected trustee on the Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île from 1998 to 2014.

Chantal Rossi
Associate councillor on the Montreal Executive Committee with responsibility for culture, heritage, and design
Incumbent
Assumed office 2013
Preceded by	position created
Borough mayor of Montréal-Nord (interim)
In office January 2016 – April 2016
Preceded by	Gilles Deguire
Succeeded by	Christine Black
Montreal City Councillor for Marie-Clarac
Incumbent
Assumed office 2013
Preceded by	Clementina Teti-Tomassi
Montréal-Nord borough councillor for Marie-Clarac
In office 2009–2013
Preceded by	Clementina Teti-Tomassi
Succeeded by	Monica Ricourt
Member of the Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île, District Sixteen
In office 1998–2014
Preceded by	position created
Succeeded by	position eliminated
Personal details
Political party	Union Montreal (2009-2013) Independent (2013) Équipe Denis Coderre (2013–)

Early life and career

Rossi was born in Montréal-Nord.[1] She is the daughter of Carlo Rossi, who represented Bourassa in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1988. In 1987, she helped convince her father to reverse his long-standing support for capital punishment and to vote against its re-introduction.[2]

A mother at a young age, Rossi worked for several years as a Bank of Montreal cashier before entering public life.[3] She is a trained mezzo-soprano singer and has performed concerts in Montreal.[4]

School commissioner

Rossi was first elected to the Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île in 1998 and was re-elected in 2003 and 2007. She was not a candidate in the deferred election of 2014.

Borough councillor

Rossi was elected to the Montréal-Nord borough council in the 2009 Montreal municipal election as a Union Montreal candidate in Marie-Clarac. On council, she had special responsibility for culture and preparations for Montréal-Nord's centenary in 2015.[5] She resigned from Union Montreal on February 21, 2013, after a corruption scandal implicated some of the party's leading members[6] and joined Équipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal on June 17 of the same year.[7]

City councillor

Rossi was elected to the Montreal city council for Marie-Clarac in the 2013 municipal election. Denis Coderre was elected as mayor and his party won a plurality of seats on council; on November 18, 2013, Coderre appointed Rossi as an associate councillor to the Montreal executive committee (i.e., the municipal cabinet) with responsibility for culture, heritage, and design. She worked in conjunction with Manon Gauthier, the executive councillor responsible for these files.[8]

Rossi continues to serve on the Montréal-Nord borough council by virtue of holding her position on city council. When Gilles Deguire resigned as borough mayor amid scandal in January 2016, Rossi was appointed as his interim replacement.[9] She served in this role until April 2016, when Christine Black was elected to the position in a by-election.[10] During her tenure as mayor, the city of Montreal introduced a sculpture resembling a ferris wheel as an identifying beacon in one of Montréal-Nord's busiest thoroughfares. The sculpture prompted some criticism for its $1.1 million cost, although many defended it on the grounds that it added a "rare bit of positive recognition" for the frequently troubled region of the city. Rossi was quoted as saying, "It's clear that Montreal North has experienced a lot of pain [in recent years]. This helps to put a balm on that pain."[11]

In the 2017 Montreal municipal election, Rossi ran as co-candidate for Coderre in the district of Ovide-Clermont. This means that if Coderre had been elected mayor and also city councillor for Ovide-Clermont, he would have sat as mayor and Rossi would have assumed the post of city councillor for Ovide-Clermont. Coderre won the city councillor election but lost the mayoral election; as he chose to resign from municipal politics, he exercised his option to cede the city council post to Rossi.

Electoral record

Municipal

2013 Montreal municipal election: Councillor, Marie-Clarac
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Équipe Denis Coderre	Chantal Rossi	6,292	63.29
	Coalition Montréal	Michelle Allaire	2,123	21.36
	Projet Montréal	Andrea Cohen	1,526	15.35
Total valid votes			9,941	100	–
Total rejected ballots			731	6.85	–
Turnout			10,672	38.96
Electors on the lists			27,391	–	–
Source: Election results, 2013, City of Montreal.

2009 Montreal municipal election: Montréal-Nord borough Councillor, Marie-Clarac
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Union Montreal	Chantal Rossi	3,506	38.96
	Vision Montreal	Roland Carrier	2,824	31.38
	Renouveau municipal de Montréal	Jeannette Belisle	1,413	15.70
	Projet Montréal	Saïd Ghoulimi	1,256	13.96
Total valid votes			8,999	100	–
Total rejected ballots			507	5.33	–
Turnout			9,506	34.19	–
Electors on the lists			27,807	–	–
Source: Election results, 2009, City of Montreal.

School board

Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île election, 2007 (Trustee, District Sixteen)[12]

Candidate		Votes	%
Chantal Rossi (incumbent)		285	64.63
Réjean Loyer		156	35.37
Total votes		441	100.00

Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île election, 2003 (Trustee, District Sixteen)[13]

Candidate		Votes	%
Chantal Rossi (incumbent)		acclaimed

Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Île election, 1998 (Trustee, District Sixteen)[14]

Candidate		Votes	%
Chantal Rossi (incumbent)		390	41.94
Isabelle Laurin		290	31.18
Louise Dagenais		250	26.88
Total votes		930	100.00

References

1. Chantal Rossi (2013 campaign page) Archived December 18, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Équipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal, accessed 5 December 2013.
2. Caitlin Kelly, "Tough turnabout; Changing his mind on death penalty reveals humanity of cop-turned-MP," Montreal Gazette, 2 May 1987, B6.
3. Romain Schué, "De l’église à la mairie: Chantal Rossi, une ascension atypique", Le Guide de Montréal-Nord, 26 January 2016, accessed 8 May 2017.
4. "Music Scene: This week's selection of aural happenings," Montreal Gazette, 22 July 2005, D13; Concert de Noël de la conseillère Chantal Rossi, Courrier Ahuntsic & Bordeaux-Cartierville, 13 November 2013, accessed 5 December 2013.
5. Chantal Rossi (2013 campaign page) Archived December 18, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Équipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal, accessed 5 December 2013.
6. Ron Bruemmer, "Union Montreal loses six more members; Party heavyweight Michel Bissonnet 'in period of reflection' about future," Montreal Gazette, 22 February 2013, A4.
7. Adam Kovac, "Eight candidates join Coderre slate; Seven come from Union Montreal; Previous council experience heralded," Montreal Gazette, 18 June 2013, A8.
8. Coderre names executive committee, CTV News, 19 November 2013, accessed 5 December 2013.
9. "Le maire de Montréal-Nord, Gilles Deguire, démissionne". Radio Canada. January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
10. Audrey Ruel-Manseau, "Christine Black élue mairesse de Montréal-Nord", La Presse, 24 April 2016, accessed 8 May 2017.
11. René Bruemmer, "The immobile ferris wheel of Montreal North; $1.1M work of public art intended to bring whimsy to neighbourhood," Montreal Gazette, 1 March 2016, A2.
12. Audrey Gagnon, "CSPÎ: Élection scolaire sans surprise à Saint-Léonard, Montréal-Nord et Rivière-des-Prairies," L'Informateur de Rivière-des-Prairies, 5 November 2007.
13. Source: "School board races won by acclamation," Montreal Gazette, 23 October 2003, p. 6.
14. Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-L'Île — 06-01 (Election Results, 1998), Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.

External links

• City of Montreal biography (in French)