The Parti de l'alliance municipale (PAM), also known as the Alliance municipale de Saint-Léonard, was a municipal political party in the suburban community of Saint-Leonard in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the 1970s and 1980s. The dominant party on council from 1978 to 1981, it went through a period of decline before dissolving in 1986.
PAM won seven out of twelve seats on Saint-Leonard city council in the 1978 municipal election, although PAM mayoral candidate André Chrétien was narrowly defeated by Michel Bissonnet of the Équipe du renouveau de la cité de Saint-Léonard.[1] Bissonnet led a minority administration for three years before resigning to run for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec; he was succeeded by Antonio di Ciocco, an Équipe du renouveau member whose victory led to a realignment of municipal political alliances.
The 1982 municipal election was a disappointment for PAM. Its mayoral candidate, Rosaire Rivest, finished third against di Ciocco, and Chrétien was the party's only candidate to be returned to council.[2] PAM did not field a candidate in a by-election that followed di Ciocco's unexpected death in 1984; Rivest and Chrétien explained that they did not want to oversee a minority administration and would instead seek to perform effectively in opposition for the next two years.[3] In March 1986, Chrétien indicated that PAM and other opposition parties were holding discussions about a possible alliance.[4]
PAM dissolved in 1986, and many of its leading members, including Chrétien, joined the Équipe démocratique de Saint-Léonard.[5]
References
edit- ^ "East-end councillors cite bribe offers to sway votes," Montreal Gazette, 17 July 1978, p. 11.
- ^ Le Journal de Saint-Léonard, 9 November 1982, pp. 2-4.
- ^ Rosaire Rivest and André Chrétien, "Le PAM explique pourquoi il ne présente pas de candidat à l'élection à la mairie", Il Settimanale, 11 September 1984.
- ^ Debbie Parkes, "Opposition candidates reject new St. Leonard political party," Montreal Gazette, 27 March 1986, p. 9.
- ^ "New party picks slate for vote in St. Leonard," Montreal Gazette, 16 October 1986, p. 6.