Mayor of Montreal
Encyclopedia
Montreal City Council
The Montreal City Council is the governing body of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the City Council. The mayor is Gérald Tremblay, who is a member of the Union des citoyens et des citoyennes de l'Île de Montréal...
.
The Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and provincial laws within Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
The Mayor is directly elected by citizens, with a simple majority
Majority
A majority is a subset of a group consisting of more than half of its members. This can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset; i.e. a plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset may consist of less than half the group's population...
, for a four-year term.
The Mayor's office is located in Montreal City Hall
Montreal City Hall
The five-storey Montreal City Hall is the work of architects Henri-Maurice Perrault and Alexander Cowper Hutchison, and was built between 1872 and 1878 in the Second Empire style. It is located in Old Montreal, between Place Jacques-Cartier and the Champ de Mars, at 275 Notre-Dame Street East...
.
History of the office
The first poll in the history of Montreal was held on the day the First charter of Montreal came into effect, namely June 3, 1833.On June 5, 1833 city council
Montreal City Council
The Montreal City Council is the governing body of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the City Council. The mayor is Gérald Tremblay, who is a member of the Union des citoyens et des citoyennes de l'Île de Montréal...
chose Jacques Viger as the first mayor of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. The same day that Jacques Viger was elected mayor of Montréal, city council adopted a series of administrative by-laws, as well as ordinances to improve cleanliness in city districts. Andrew Steven Fox has been appointed as the mayor's medical advisor.
The first Coat of arms of Montreal
Coat of arms of Montreal
The first coat of arms of Montreal was designed by Jacques Viger, the city's first mayor, and adopted in 1833 by the city councillors. Modifications were made some one hundred five years later and adopted on 21 March 1938, resulting in the version currently in use...
and the motto "Concordia Salus" were adopted on July 19, 1833 as proposed by Viger. The emblems of the main ethnic groups in Montréal were given prominence. The rose
Red Rose of Lancaster
The Red Rose of Lancaster is the county flower of Lancashire.The exact species or cultivar which the red rose relates to is uncertain, but it is thought to be Rosa gallica officinalis....
represented England, the thistle
Thistle
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles often occur all over the plant – on surfaces such as those of the stem and flat parts of leaves. These are an adaptation that protects the...
referred to Scotland, the clover
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
corresponded to Ireland, and the beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
, as the emblem of French Canadians, was replaced by the fleur de lys
Fleur de Lys
Fleur de Lys is a superheroine from Quebec and an ally of Northguard, created in 1984 by Mark Shainblum and Gabriel Morrissette. The name of the character is inspired by the heraldic symbol of the fleur de lys. It is the official emblem of Quebec and a prominent part of the Flag of Quebec...
in 1938.
In 1851 city council decided to provide the first magistrate of the city with a sumptuous chain; it is an old English practice. The coat of arms of Montreal
Coat of arms of Montreal
The first coat of arms of Montreal was designed by Jacques Viger, the city's first mayor, and adopted in 1833 by the city councillors. Modifications were made some one hundred five years later and adopted on 21 March 1938, resulting in the version currently in use...
figured prominently in the centre of the gold chain. On October 2, 1851, that chain was passed on to mayor Charles Wilson
Charles Wilson (Canadian politician)
Charles Wilson was a Canadian businessman and politician.-Background:Wilson was born in Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec, son of a Scottish immigrant and a French-Canadian mother....
at a ceremony presided over by Lord Elgin
James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
Sir James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, KT, GCB, PC , was a British colonial administrator and diplomat...
, governor general of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
. The chain is now worn by each new mayor at the swearing in ceremony. At the election in February 1852, Wilson
Charles Wilson (Canadian politician)
Charles Wilson was a Canadian businessman and politician.-Background:Wilson was born in Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec, son of a Scottish immigrant and a French-Canadian mother....
became the first mayor elected by citizens.
Starting with the 2009 Montreal municipal election
Montreal municipal election, 2009
The city of Montreal, Quebec, held a municipal election at the same time as numerous other municipalities in Quebec, on November 1, 2009. Voters elected the Mayor of Montreal, Montreal City Council, and the mayors and councils of each of the city's boroughs....
, the mayor of Montreal is also the mayor of the borough of Ville-Marie.
See also
- List of leaders of the Official Opposition (Montreal)
- Montreal City CouncilMontreal City CouncilThe Montreal City Council is the governing body of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the City Council. The mayor is Gérald Tremblay, who is a member of the Union des citoyens et des citoyennes de l'Île de Montréal...
- Montreal City HallMontreal City HallThe five-storey Montreal City Hall is the work of architects Henri-Maurice Perrault and Alexander Cowper Hutchison, and was built between 1872 and 1878 in the Second Empire style. It is located in Old Montreal, between Place Jacques-Cartier and the Champ de Mars, at 275 Notre-Dame Street East...
- Timeline of Montreal historyTimeline of Montreal historyThe timeline of the history of Montreal shows the significant events in the history of Montreal which transformed it from a small fort into a big city of North America.-Pre-European period:...
- History of MontrealHistory of MontrealThe human history of Montreal, located in Quebec, Canada, spans some 8,000 years. At the time of European contact, the area was inhabited by the St. Lawrence Iroquoians, a discrete and distinct group of Iroquoian-speaking indigenous people. They spoke Laurentian...
- History of QuebecHistory of QuebecQuebec has played a special role in Canadian history; it is the site where French settlers founded the colony of Canada in the 17th and 18th centuries.-Paleoindian Era :...
- List of governors of Montreal