A Voter’s Responsibility by Barry Christensen

On November 2, 2025, municipal elections will be held throughout Quebec. If you are new to the City of Pointe-Claire or have moved to a new address within Pointe-Claire since the last municipal election in 2021, it is your obligation to verify if you are on the voter list.

There are three ways to check that your name is on the list of electors:

· By contacting Elections Quebec prior to the election period;

· On the information card or registration notice you will receive in the mail at the beginning of the election period;

· By contacting your returning officer (the Pointe-Claire city clerk) during the municipal election.

Unfortunately, many citizens do not exercise their right to vote municipally while never missing a provincial or federal election. It is important to understand that the actions of the municipal government touch the lives of citizens on a daily basis, while the decisions made at higher levels of government will have a broader, but more impersonal, impact. From the moment a resident gets up in the morning and turns on the tap to fill the coffeepot, to garbage collection, to snow removal, an efficient municipal government is essential to ensuring the functioning of our everyday lives.

Pointe-Claire is unique in being able to offer many services to benefit its residents, including such resources as Olympic-class sports programs, a volunteer rescue squad that has been helping people for over 75 years, multiple recreational facilities and libraries, and activities for every age group.

In 2021, Pointe-Claire had a voter turnout of only 40.39%. Not even half of residents were interested in casting their ballot, despite having been able to vote by mail, in advance polling, at the office of the returning officer, or by showing up on the official voting day.

Nearly 60% of residents stayed home, deciding that they didn’t care about who made decisions for their neighbourhoods or the city as a whole. Voting takes five minutes and provides the opportunity to have a say in how the city is run.

At the municipal level, our representatives, the city councillors, are our neighbours. They live near us; their children have attended the same schools as our children; they participate in community activities and live under the same conditions as their residents. When reconstruction impacts our roads, it impacts their roads; when our taxes increase, so do theirs. They have a vested interest in what happens in our city because our city is their city as well.

It is also important to note that Pointe-Claire is not like the City of Montreal; we do not have a party system, and the eight councillors are independent entities who have no need to toe the party line, representing their districts and are beholden to their constituents while voting on issues affecting the city as a whole. At the same time, the mayor represents all the citizens of Pointe-Claire, with a set of responsibilities set out by the Quebec government. In either role, Pointe-Claire’s elected officials have a duty to work with each other, the administration and city employees, and higher levels of government to ensure that the city runs efficiently while following all guidelines and respecting the views of all residents, regardless of how their votes were cast.

The beauty of how municipal government works lies in its accessibility to all. It’s local. It’s open. The faces are familiar. If you have a question or a problem, it can be addressed quickly by your elected official or passed along to the appropriate department. While we have wonderful representation at the federal and provincial levels, the efficiency of local government should be encouraged with your vote.

The Pointe-Claire Record would like to encourage potential candidates and voters to share their opinions on what matters to them. Email us at editor@pcrecord.ca to share your thoughts.