The 1987 Gatineau municipal election was held on November 1, 1987, to elect a mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 and councillor

Councillor

A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...

s in Gatineau

Gatineau

Gatineau is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario, and together they form Canada's National Capital Region. Ottawa and Gatineau comprise a single Census...

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Incumbent mayor Gaétan Cousineau

Gaétan Cousineau

Gaétan Cousineau is an administrator and former politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. He was the mayor of Gatineau from 1983 to 1988 and is now president of the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse .-Early life and career:Cousineau has a diploma in Civil Law...

 was narrowly re-elected over a challenge from former mayor John Luck.

Council

1987 Gatineau election, Councillor, District One

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
Michel Charbonneau	1,205	42.53
Simon Racine Simon Racine Simon Racine is a Quebec politician and teacher in Gatineau, Quebec. He is the current councillor for the Limbour District in the Gatineau sectorRacine studied at the University of Ottawa and obtained a bachelor's degree in physical education...	704	24.85
Andre Gregoire	601	21.21
De Sale Gauthier	323	11.40
Total valid votes	2,833	100.00

1987 Gatineau election, Councillor, District Two

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
Therese Cyr	1,542	46.45
Daniel Moreau	1,525	45.93
Carole Malouin	253	7.62
Total valid votes	3,320	100.00

1987 Gatineau election, Councillor, District Three

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
(x)Gilbert Garneau	1,169	60.92
Michel Gobeil	452	23.55
Alcide Beaulne	298	15.53
Total valid votes	1,919	100.00

1987 Gatineau election, Councillor, District Four

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
Richard Canuel	1,108	54.61
(x)Hubert Leroux	921	45.39
Total valid votes	2,029	100.00

1987 Gatineau election, Councillor, District Five

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
Helene Theoret	573	22.39
(x)Guy Lacroix	517	20.20
Gilles Trahan	390	15.24
Roger Fortin	312	12.19
Paul Lavoie	304	11.88
Raymond Gosselin	159	6.21
Florent Cadotte	153	5.98
Gaetan Dube	151	5.90
Total valid votes	2,559	100.00

1987 Gatineau election, Councillor, District Six

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
(x)Claire Vaive	accl.

1987 Gatineau election, Councillor, District Eight

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
(x)Richard Migneault	1,434	76.07
Annette Laurin	451	23.93
Total valid votes	1,885	100.00

1987 Gatineau election, Councillor, District Nine

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
(x)Rene-Jean Monnette	accl.

1987 Gatineau election, Councillor, District Ten

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
Richard Cote	1,375	56.61
(x)Jacques Vezina	745	30.67
Gerald Joly	309	12.72
Total valid votes	2,429	100.00

1987 Gatineau election, Councillor, District Eleven

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
(x)François Leclerc	1,064	52.13
Catherine Filion	977	47.87
Total valid votes	2,041	100.00

1987 Gatineau election, Councillor, District Twelve

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
Marlene Goyet	1,088	42.55
Irene Schingh-Seguin	557	21.78
(x)Charles Vaillancourt	408	15.96
Michel Constantineau	371	14.51
Lary Seguin	133	5.20
Total valid votes	2,557	100.00

Post-election changes

Gaétan Cousineau resigned as mayor in early 1988, and a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 was held to choose his replacement.

• Jean Deschênes was born on March 26, 1940 in Sainte-Flavie, Quebec
  Sainte-Flavie, Quebec
  Sainte-Flavie is a parish municipality in the La Mitis Regional County Municipality of Quebec, located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, about northwest of Mont-Joli. It is named after Flavia, a martyred saint....
  
  . He has a Bachelor of Arts
  Bachelor of Arts
  A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
  
   degree from the University of Ottawa
  University of Ottawa
  The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
  
  , began working as a school principal in 1972, and later received a Master of Public Administration
  Master of Public Administration
  The Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...
  
   degree. Deschênes first ran for mayor of Gatineau in 1979, losing to incumbent John Luck, and ran a second time in a by-election called after the resignation of Gaetan Cousineau in 1988. He highlighted his skills as an administrator and sought a municipal tax freeze in the latter campaign. Despite an endorsement from Luck, he finished third against Robert Labine. He was later elected to the Gatineau city council in 1995, representing the city’s fifth ward. In 1996, Deschênes was arrested by Gatineau police under very controversial circumstances while returning home from a charity function; despite passing three breathalyzer tests, he was taken to the station in handcuffs and given a fourth test before being released. The officers were later reprimanded for not following proper procedure. At the time of the incident, Deschênes chaired a city committee that was looking into cutbacks for city staff, including the police; he, and many others, later described the police actions as intimidation and harassment. He was narrowly defeated by Joseph de Sylva
  Joseph De Sylva
  Joseph de Sylva is a Quebec politician in Gatineau, Quebec. He is the councillor for the district of Du Versant in the Gatineau sector....
  
   in 1999. He also sought election in 2001, but was defeated. Deschênes has been active in the Liberal Party of Canada
  Liberal Party of Canada
  The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
  
  .
• Hubert Leroux was born in Hawkesbury
  Hawkesbury, Ontario
  Hawkesbury is a town in the Eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada, on the Ottawa River, near the Quebec-Ontario border.It lies on the south shore of the Ottawa River about halfway between Downtown Ottawa and Downtown Montreal in Prescott and Russell Counties. The Long-Sault Bridge links it...
  
  , Ontario
  Ontario
  Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
  
  . An insurance broker, he served on the Gatineau city council from 1979 to 1987. Known as a maverick politician, Leroux was one of only two councillors to vote against the city's 1986 budget, arguing that more spending cuts could have been made. He also opposed Mayor Gaétan Cousineau
  Gaétan Cousineau
  Gaétan Cousineau is an administrator and former politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. He was the mayor of Gatineau from 1983 to 1988 and is now president of the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse .-Early life and career:Cousineau has a diploma in Civil Law...
  
  's plans for a new city hall building. He lost to Richard Canuel in the 1987 election. He was forty-eight years old during the 1988 election and described himself as a "small-c" conservative. The latter point notwithstanding, he called for a significant business tax increase to keep property taxes down.

Sources: "Final official results of weekend Outaouais civic elections," Ottawa Citizen, 6 November 1987, C3; "Cousineau wins, Luck continues to contest result" [mayoral recount], Ottawa Citizen, 16 November 1987, C1; David Gamble, "Labine wins tight race for mayor in Gatineau," Ottawa Citizen, 6 June 1988, A1.