Election day in Gatineau: Here's what you need to know about the municipal election

OTTAWA -

A new era of municipal politics will begin in Gatineau today, as voters head to the polls to elect a new mayor and council.

It's municipal election day across Quebec, with elections being held for representatives in municipalities across the province.

In Gatineau, a new mayor will be elected to lead the city for the next four years after Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin decided not to seek re-election for a third term. Pedneaud-Jobin announced earlier this year that he would not seek another term as mayor, after serving as leader of the city since 2013.

At least 12 districts in Gatineau will have a new councillor after the ballots are counted this evening. Eight councillors have decided not to seek re-election, two councillors are running for mayor of Gatineau and Mike Duggan is seeking election in Pointe-Gatineau after previously representing the District of Deschenes.

In addition, there is a 19^th district added to Gatineau's electoral map for this election. The new district is District 5 – Mitigomijokan.

Polling stations will be open in Gatineau until 8 p.m. for residents to cast their ballots.

The city of Gatineau reported 14.22 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots in advance polls, at the returning office and through mail-in ballots. As of 1 p.m., the city says 45,709 people (22.9 per cent of eligible voters) had cast ballots in advance polls and on election day.

MAYOR OF GATINEAU

There are six candidates on the ballot for mayor, including two current councillors in Gatineau.

The mayoral candidates are:

• France Belisle – Independante
• Remi Bergeron – Independant
• Jean-Francois Leblanc – Independant
• Abdelhak Lekbabi – Independant
• Jacques Lemay – Independant
• Maude Marquis-Bissonnette – Action Gatineau

Leblanc was the councillor for District 15, while Marquis-Bissonnette represented District 4.

Belisle is a former journalist at Radio-Canada, and was in charge of Tourisme Outaouais from 2015 to 2021.

Bergeron was a candidate for mayor in the 2017 election, and former director general of the municipality of Bowman.

Lemay is a former firefighter with the Gatineau fire service. 

Lekbabi is running for mayor for the first time. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO VOTE

Polling stations will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The city of Gatineau says in order to vote, you must:

• Be at least 18 years of age on election day
• Be a Canadian citizen
• On Sept. 1, 2021 - be domiciled in Gatineau and have resided in Quebec for at least six months
• Not be under curatorship
• Not have been convicted of election fraud
• Be on the list of electors

BRING TO THE POLLING STATION 

The city of Gatineau says electors wishing to vote must first show a valid ID such as:

• A driver's licence
• Health insurance card
• Canadian passport
• Status Indian certificate
• ID card issued to Canadian Forces personnel

For more information, visit gatineau.ca.