Voters in Gatineau, Que., have re-elected Maude Marquis-Bissonnette as their mayor in a tight race over one of her council colleagues.
Marquis-Bissonnette had 41.569 votes for 51.1 per cent of the overall vote in the preliminary results, while Masson-Angers Coun. Mario Aubé was in second place with 38,203 votes and 47 per cent.
“What an evening!” Marquis-Bissonnette said in French to kick off her victory speech, after trailing Aubé early in the night.
“Tonight’s result tells me we’re on the right track, but there’s still work to be done.”
Marquis-Bissonnette, the leader of the Action Gatineau party, was first elected as mayor roughly 17 months ago, winning a byelection after former mayor France Bélisle stepped down.
(Unlike in Ontario, municipal politicians in Quebec sometimes represent political parties.)
Voters watch early results come in at the election night party for Gatineau, Que., mayoral candidate Mario Aubé on Nov. 2, 2025. (Olivier Plante/Radio-Canada)
Marquis-Bissonnette pitched investments over the course of the 2025 campaign in areas like transit and the environment. She also pledged to boost the city’s affordable housing stock by building 1,500 new residential units.
Both Marquis-Bissonnette and Aubé — who headed up the new Team Mario Aubé party — vowed to keep municipal taxes and fees in check, with Aubé saying during the campaign that this was the issue that spurred him to enter the race.
Not long before the race was called, Aubé told reporters he had spoken to Marquis-Bissonnette and had conceded.
“The people of Gatineau have made their choice, and we must respect it,” he told Radio-Canada in French.
Independent candidate Rémi Bergeron is poised to finish a distant third with about 1.9 per cent of votes cast.
Aubé speaks to a Radio-Canada reporter on election night, shortly after announcing he had conceded the race to Marquis-Bissonnette. (Olivier Plante/Radio-Canada)
Technical issues cause delays
Voting hours in Gatineau were extended Sunday after technical glitches affected several polling stations, according to Véronique Denis, the city’s chief electoral officer.
Polls ended up staying open until 8:30 p.m. across the city to account for any delays.
In the end, turnout was roughly 41 per cent, higher than the 33 per cent in last year’s mayoral byelection.
According to the preliminary results, Marquis-Bissonnette’s Action Gatineau party also appeared headed toward a slim majority around the council table, with 11 councillors to seven from Team Mario Aubé and one independent.
Coun. Caroline Murray, who won her seat in Deschênes, said Action Gatineau is used to collaborating at city hall.
“We’ve learned to work with other councillors … minority and majority, it’s going to be the same thing,” she told CBC.
“Everyone around the table got elected, and we have to work with them.”
Preliminary results
Action Gatineau
- Mayor Marquis-Bissonnette.
- Vincent Roy in Aylmer.
- Sonia Ben-Arfa in Lucerne
- Caroline Murray in Deschênes.
- Bettyna Bélizaire in Plateau.
- Rachel M. Deslauriers in Mitigomijokan.
- Adrian Corbo in Manoir-des-Trembles–Val-Tétreau.
- Steve Moran in Hull-Wright.
- Isabelle Cousineau in Parc-de-la-Montagne–Saint-Raymond.
- Isabelle N. Miron in l’Orée-du-Parc.
- Tiffany Lee Norris Parent in Touraine.
- Catherine Craig-St-Louis in Carrefour-de-l’Hôpital.
Équipe Mario Aubé
- Julie Bélisle in Limbour.
- Marc Carrière in Pointe-Gatineau.
- Luc Chénier in Versant.
- Chloé Bourgeois in Bellevue.
- Timmy Jutras in Lac-Beauchamp.
- Jean Lessard in Rivière-Blanche
- Michael Korhonen in Masson-Angers.
Independent
- Edmond Leclerc in Buckingham.
