The Ralliement de Saint-Léonard (RdSL) is a former political party in Saint-Leonard,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The RdSL existed prior to Saint-Leonard's amalgamation into

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and dominated the city's political life in the mid-1980s.

Rise to political dominance

The RdSL was formed as a successor to the

Équipe du renouveau de la cité de Saint-Léonard The Équipe du renouveau de la cité de Saint-Léonard (English: Municipal Renewal Party of Saint-Leonard) was a political party based in the suburban community of Saint-Leonard in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It existed from 1978 to 1984, and was the ...

of mayor

Antonio di Ciocco Antonio di Ciocco (died July 1984) was a politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He served as mayor of the suburban community of Saint-Leonard from 1981 to 1984 and was also chair of the '' Commission scolaire Jérôme-Le Royer'' from 1980 to 1983. ...

, who died in 1984. Party founder

Raymond Renaud Raymond Renaud was a politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was mayor of the suburban community of Saint-Leonard from 1984 to 1990, leading the municipal Ralliement de Saint-Léonard party. Councillor Renaud was first elected as a Saint-Leona ...

won the city's mayoralty in a September 1984

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, and the party held eight out of twelve council seats in 1985. Reneaud was re-elected as Saint-Leonard's mayor in the 1986 municipal election, and the party increased its representation to ten council seats. Following the election, Renaud was quoted as saying, "The opposition? There is no opposition in Saint-Leonard."

Split and subsequent collapse

In 1988, councillor

Frank Zampino Frank Zampino is a former Montreal politician and is a chartered accountant. He served as the Chairman of the executive committee of the Ville de Montréal and was the city's second-ranking official. Early life In 1976, Zampino graduated from L ...

led a rebellion in which he and seven other RdSL representatives resigned from the party to sit as independents. They accused Renaud of making decisions without consultation and were particularly opposed to a $1.5 million business tax surcharge that was meant to pay for a residential tax cut. Only two councillors,

Basilio Giordano Basilio Giordano (born February 3, 1952) is an Italian people, Italian and Canadians, Canadian politician and journalist. He was a city councillor in the Montreal, Montreal, Quebec borough of Saint-Leonard, Quebec, Saint-Leonard from 1982 to 199 ...

and Pari Montanaro, remained with Renaud's administration. The dissident councillors formed a municipal priority committee, which submitted a budget in 1989, and a "Saint-Leonard Citizens' Committee" that was intended to give citizens more control over political matters. From 1988 to 1990, the city faced political gridlock between the mayor's office and Zampino's group. Zampino defeated Renaud for the mayoralty in the 1990 municipal election, and the RdSL won only two council seats. The party effectively disappeared in March 1994, when the two remaining RdSL members joined Zampino's Parti Municipal.Mike King, "St. Leonard opposition joins ruling party Parti Municipal has council monopoly," ''Montreal Gazette'', 14 March 1994, A3.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ralliement de Saint-Leonard Municipal political parties in Montreal Saint-Leonard, Quebec