Montréal elects First Chilean-Born Mayor, Soraya Martinez ferrada
Montréal, Québec – Soraya martinez Ferrada has begun settling into her new role as mayor of Montréal, following her victory in the November 2nd election, securing 43.4% of the vote against four other candidates. Representing the center-right Ensemble Montréal party, Martinez Ferrada welcomed a media outlet into her office this mid-November, describing the space – a wood-paneled room with views of the city’s historic center – as a blank slate, mirroring the work ahead for her four-year mandate.
Martinez Ferrada’s journey to the mayor’s office is rooted in a personal history of displacement and activism. Born in Chile, she fled the country with her mother at the age of eight, escaping the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. She recalls vivid memories of “soldiers in the street, the general atmosphere, the feeling of injustice” during that period.
Arriving in Québec as a political refugee, Martinez Ferrada credits her activist grandparents with inspiring her entry into politics. her career began at the municipal level as a Montréal city councilor, followed by a term in Parliament in Ottawa. Most recently, in 2023, she served as minister of tourism under former Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
