A new mayor of Montréal would relocate the Formula E race

Current mayor Denis Coderre and challengers Valérie Plante (Projet Montréal) and Jean Fortier (Coalition Montréal) are the three main rivals in the battle for becoming mayor of Montréal for the next few years.

Mr. Coderre masterminded the project of a Formula E race on the streets of downtown Montréal, and the city has signed a three-year deal to stage the electric car series on the streets around the Jacques-Cartier bridge.

The maiden Hydro-Québec ePrix of Montréal was held last July and it generated massive protest from the local residents. They complained for months about the reconfiguration and paving of the streets, the installation of the concrete walls, catch fences grandstands, and all the activities surrounding the event itself.

For those reasons, La Presse reports that Valérie Plante said in a recent press conference that if she becomes the mayor of Montréal, the race would be relocated on the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit, home of the Canadian F1 Grand Prix.

“Relocating the race on the F1 track would save more than $10 million to the city of Montréal every year,” she claimed. “The grandstands and the safety equipment would not have to be built as they are already sited on the Ile Notre-Dame.”

Valérie Plante and her party promise to save massive amounts of money to the tax payers if she’s elected, and the relocation of the Formula E race is just one point in their project.

However, the FIA and the organizer of the Formula E Championship may not accept that the race is moved to another location, as the objective of the series is to showcase electric powered vehicles in a typical urban environment.

We wait to hear the position of the third major candidate concerning the future of the Montréal Formula E race.