Since leaving municipal politics in November 2025, former Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has kept busy. She recently sat down with CTV Montreal’s Matt Gilmour to talk about a new documentary series she is hosting and the launch of her first novel. Some answers have been edited for clarity. Matt Gilmour: Before we get into things, I want to ask you how you have been adjusting to life outside of City Hall? Valérie Plante: Pretty well. It’s been a big change of rhythm, I have to say. Like, as you can see, I have different projects that I’ve been dealing with and advancing over the last 10 months. But it is a rhythm that is way easier. Let’s put it this way. And also, it’s been nice to take some time with my family, my husband, just to catch up on normal life, normal activities. So, it’s been great. Matt Gilmour: Let’s talk about the documentary series first. The first three episodes of Ça brasse en ville are now available on TV5+. What can you tell us about the show and why you decided to go to some of these cities to explore them? Valérie Plante: When I got that offer from TV5+ to do a show about how cities are adjusting when it comes to issues like the housing crisis, the climate crisis, all these things that we are dealing with in Montreal, but definitely we are dealing with in all other cities around the world. I visited a city in Colombia, one in Argentina, two in Africa and two in Europe to talk about those issues. But what was very important to me was to look at the solutions and the problems from the citizens’ perspective, because in all of those cities, those problems are different. And there are citizens that are proposing solutions, and that’s really what I wanted to focus on. Matt Gilmour: You obviously ran a major city for eight years, and now you’re looking at it from that perspective. How did that change your perspective of the way a city runs and functions? Valérie Plante: I’ll be honest. The fact that, like you said, running a city and knowing in detail how complex it is, I have a very sensitive look on those cities because I know a lot of them are doing their best. Though, at the same time, it was important for me to look at what could be done differently because when it comes to climate change and how we find houses and a roof for people, there’s no time to waste. We need to find solutions. So I have to say, I felt like most of the time, we are pretty lucky in Montreal in many ways. But at the same time, no city is perfect. So that was also my take. I wanted to show… It’s not like a postcard TV show. It shows the ugly, the not as nice, the beautiful things as well. But that’s what a city is all about. Sometimes there’s chaos, and how are we all, as citizens, but also as a city, going through those changes and finding solutions. Matt Gilmour: Did you find any ways that people or different cities do different things that you wish you’d known while you were in City Hall, or that you think we could learn from here in Montreal? Valérie Plante: I think I got pretty inspired by the city of Oslo, of course, because they have an amazing public transit network. Like, of course I was jealous. But there were other things, like the way they see security of their youth throughout the city. They’ve created kind of a night squad base, created by adults, but they’re kind of watching in a very nice way and how the kids are enjoying the nightlife. So that’s a little thing. But I guess ultimately it shows in this series that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. And there’s no black and white. Most of the time, with the complexity, you need to arrive with a diversity of solutions if you really want to fight the issue. Matt Gilmour: I want to mention your new book. This is a novel that you’ve written. What made you decide to go down the fiction route? Valérie Plante: Because I wanted the freedom to bring some of the questions I have. It’s called Grenades and it’s about how do we rebuild ourselves once there’s been an explosion inside of us, or even around us. So, through different characters and through fiction, I was able to kind of go crazy, if I could say, with my imagination. But also, I wanted to push forward this train of thought. What do we do once we’ve been hurt and we need to move forward? So, it talks about domestic violence, but also sisterhood. There’s some dark, and there’s a lot of light.
