Ensemble Montréal (officially Ensemble Montréal - Équipe Soraya) is a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Led by Soraya Martinez Ferrada, the party holds a majority on the Montreal City Council.
The party held power from 2013 until 2017 during the administration of Denis Coderre, at the time known as Équipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal. Following Coderre's defeat to Projet Montréal's Valérie Plante in the 2017 election, Coderre left municipal politics, and the candidates that had been elected under the party's banner changed its name to Ensemble Montréal. He returned in the 2021 election but resigned following his mayoral defeat. Led by former MP Soraya Martinez Ferrada, who was elected leader by acclamation on February 28, 2025, the party returned to power in 2025.
The party has been a broad coalition of politicians who came from a variety of different parties prior to Ensemble's creation; however, it is generally considered to sit to the right of Projet Montréal on most issues. The party draws most of its support from wealthier parts of the city.
2013 elections The party was created in 2013 under the name Équipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal to support the candidacy of Denis Coderre for Mayor of Montréal during the November 3, 2013 municipal elections. In 2012, Denis Coderre announced his candidacy for mayor of Montreal."Denis Coderre, aspirant maire". Radio-Canada, November 9, 2012. Beginning in June 2013, seventeen sitting members of Montreal City Council, as well as several borough councillors, switched their party affiliation to Coderre's team."Borough mayor Lionel Perez joins Coderre’s party" . The Gazette, July 30, 2013. Most were sitting as independent councillors following the dissolution of the Union Montréal party in the wake of Gérald Tremblay's resignation as mayor in 2012, although Coderre attracted support from former Vision Montréal and Projet Montréal councillors as well.
The party also announced a number of non-incumbent candidates in other races, including former Radio-Canada journalist Philippe Schnobb."Philippe Schnobb se joint à l'équipe de Denis Coderre". Le Devoir, June 19, 2013. However, the party also faced some criticism for the fact that of the 19 candidates announced by the party as of early August, fifteen were incumbents and only four were new candidates, resulting in media speculation that Coderre could potentially fall short of his early promise to put forward a slate of candidates that was at least 50 per cent new."Mairie de Montréal: le président de l'Assemblée joint l'équipe Coderre". Le Journal de Montréal, August 2, 2013.
Councillors After the 2013 election, Équipe Denis Coderre held the following seats on Montreal City Council and borough councils."City councillor Harout Chitilian joins Denis Coderre" . The Gazette, August 2, 2013.
Councillor Borough Position BatistaMario Batista Saint-Léonard borough councillor, Saint-Léonard-Ouest BeisDimitrios Jim Beis Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough mayor BenjaminFrantz Benjamin Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension city councillor, Saint-Michel BergeronRichard Bergeron Ville-Marie city councillor, Saint-Jacques BironMichèle Biron Saint-Laurent borough councillor, Norman-McLaren BissonnetMichel Bissonnet Saint-Léonard borough mayor BlackChristine Black Montréal-Nord borough mayor Boivin RoyKarine Boivin Roy Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve city councillor, Louis-Riel BrunetMarie-Ève Brunet Verdun borough councillor, Champlain–L'Île-des-Sœurs CelziRichard Celzi Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve city councillor, Tétraultville ChitilianHarout Chitilian Ahuntsic-Cartierville city councillor, Bordeaux-Cartierville ClementCatherine Clément-Talbot Pierrefonds-Roxboro city councillor, Cap-Saint-Jacques CloutierJean-François Cloutier Lachine city councillor, Lachine CohenJacques Cohen Saint-Laurent borough councillor, Côte-de-Liesse CopemanRussell Copeman Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough mayor DeSousaAlan DeSousa Saint-Laurent borough mayor DecarieSuzanne Décarie Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles city councillor, Pointe-aux-Trembles DerosMary Deros Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension city councillor, Parc-Extension DesrochersPierre Desrochers Ahuntsic-Cartierville city councillor, Saint-Sulpice DezielGilles Déziel Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles borough councillor, Pointe-aux-Trembles Di Genova ZammitMichelle Di Genova Zammit Anjou borough councillor, Centre DuchesneÉrika Duchesne Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie city councillor, Vieux-Rosemont DugasÉric Dugas L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève borough councillor, Sainte-Geneviève GadouryMarc-André Gadoury Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie city councillor, Étienne-Desmarteau GagnierPierre Gagnier Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough mayor GauthierManon Gauthier Verdun city councillor, Champlain–L'Île-des-Sœurs GibeauJean-Marc Gibeau Montréal-Nord city councillor, Ovide-Clermont GignacYves Gignac Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough councillor, Cap-Saint-Jacques GuayRichard Guay Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles city councillor, La Pointe-aux-Prairies GuedesManuel Guedes Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles borough councillor, La Pointe-aux-Prairies LattanzioPatricia Lattanzio Saint-Léonard city councillor, Saint-Léonard-Est LefebvreElsie Lefebvre Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension city councillor, Villeray L'HeureuxPierre L'Heureux Verdun borough councillor, Champlain–L'Île-des-Sœurs Lo BiancoSylvia Lo Bianco Montréal-Nord borough councillor, Ovide-Clermont MénardRéal Ménard Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough mayor MieleFrancesco Miele Saint-Laurent city councillor, Côte-de-Liesse PagéLorraine Pagé Ahuntsic-Cartierville city councillor, Sault-au-Récollet ParenteauJean-François Parenteau Verdun borough mayor PerezLionel Perez Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce city councillor, Darlington PerriDominic Perri Saint-Léonard city councillor, Saint-Léonard-Ouest Pierre-AntoineNathalie Pierre-Antoine Rivière-des-Prairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles borough councillor, Rivière-des-Prairies PotvinMarie Potvin Outremont borough councillor, Robert-Bourassa RapanaGiovanni Rapanà Rivière-des-Prairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles city councillor, Rivière-des-Prairies RicourtMonica Ricourt Montréal-Nord borough councillor, Marie-Clarac RossiChantal Rossi Montréal-Nord city councillor, Marie-Clarac RouleauChantal Rouleau Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles borough mayor SalemAref Salem Saint-Laurent city councillor, Norman-McLaren SamsonAnie Samson Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough mayor SimonyikKimberley Simonyik Lachine borough councillor, Fort-Rolland TremblayLili-Anne Tremblay Saint-Léonard borough councillor, Saint-Léonard-Est ValleeMonique Vallée LaSalle city councillor, Cecil-P.-Newman
Former The following incumbent councillors affiliated with Équipe Denis Coderre in 2013 during the preceding council, but did not run or were defeated in the 2013 election.
Councillor Borough Position FrechettePierre Fréchette Le Sud-Ouest borough councillor, Saint-Henri–Petite-Bourgogne–Pointe-Saint-Charles FotopulosHelen Fotopulos Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce city councillor, Côte-des-Neiges NunesAna Nunes Outremont borough councillor, Jeanne-Sauvé
2017 elections Denis Coderre also contested the Montreal municipal elections in 2017 under the name Équipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal. On losing the 2017 municipal election, Denis Coderre left municipal politics. To disassociate themselves from their resigning leader, the party known as Équipe Denis Coderre first declared an intention to change its name to "Mouvement Montréal", but failed to register the name before making the announcement, allowing another party to quickly reserve the name for themselves.
Thus, the party had to come up with another new name and changed to "Ensemble Montréal."
Councillors
Following the 2017 municipal election, Équipe Denis Coderre held the following seats on Montreal City Council and borough councils.
Councillor Borough Position BeisDimitrios Jim Beis Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough mayor BironMichèle Biron Saint-Laurent borough councillor, Norman-McLaren BissonnetMichel Bissonnet Saint-Léonard borough mayor CohenJacques Cohen Saint-Laurent borough councillor, Côte-de-Liesse DeSousaAlan DeSousa Saint-Laurent borough mayor DerosMary Deros Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension city councillor, Parc-Extension PerezLionel Perez Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce city councillor, Darlington SalemAref Salem Saint-Laurent city councillor, Norman-McLaren
Former The following incumbent councillors elected under the Ensemble Montréal formation are no longer part of it.
Councillor Borough Position ParizeauHadrien Parizeau Ahuntsic-Cartierville city councillor, Saint-Sulpice
2021 elections The party was renamed to Ensemble Montréal from Équipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal on January 11, 2018. Coderre ran for mayor against Plante once again, and was defeated with a decreased vote and seat share. The party won 23 seats, down 2, with Coderre resigning as party leader following the results declaration.
Seat totals following the election: Position Ensemble Montréal Mayor of Montreal 0 Borough mayor 6 City councillor 17 City council total 23 Borough councillor 15 Total seats 38
2025 elections On February 28, 2025, Soraya Martinez Ferrada was elected leader by acclamation on February 28, becoming the party's candidate for mayor in the 2025 Montreal municipal election. Martínez Ferrada focussed her campaign on housing and affordability, and promised a review of the city's bike lanes. The party formed an electoral pact with Équipe LaSalle Team and Équipe Anjou. She was elected mayor on November 2, defeating Luc Rabouin of Projet Montréal. Ensemble Montréal also won a majority of seats on the Montreal City Council, with 34. The party became the first Montreal municipal party to elect 2 different mayors.
Political positions The party has often attacked Projet Montréal over anti-car policies. Interim party leader Lionel Perez has attacked the Plante Administration over its handling of the pilot project limiting private vehicular access to the Mount Royal service road.. Global News.
The party has not consistently supported expansions to Montreal's mass-transit network. While then-Mayor Denis Coderre was a strong proponent of the Réseau express métropolitain, which is being built as a "public-public partnership" between the provincial government and the Caisse de dépôt et placement, the party has opposed the construction of the Pink Line (Montreal Metro). Ensemble Montréal proposed a pilot project that would keep the metro system open during the overnight hours on summer weekends.. CTV News.
While it was in power from 2013–2017, Ensemble Montréal planned to heat and widen sidewalks along a stretch of Sainte-Catherine Street West. Once Projet Montréal took office in 2017, the heating elements were removed from Sainte-Catherine's renovation plans due to their expense. However, plans to widen sidewalks and beautify the street were otherwise largely retained.
Electoral performance Mayoral election Election Candidate Votes % Status Result 2013 Denis Coderre 149,467 32.15 1st 2017 Denis Coderre 216,321 45.66 2nd 2021 Denis Coderre 158,751 37.97 2nd 2025 Soraya Martinez Ferrada178,23243.331st
City council Election City council seats +/– Position Result 2013 26 1st 2017 1 2nd 2021 2 2nd 2025 11 1st
References
External links
List of Ensemble Montréal's elected officials by borough