Summary#
Montréal city council rejected this motion on December 15, 2025. It would have required a new nomination process for the board of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM, Montréal’s public transit agency), but its rejection means it made no change to the board or its appointments.
- Had it passed, it would have required new nominations for elected members by February 1, 2026.
- It would also have required a public call for candidates for the board member representing transit users, with that appointment made by June 1, 2026.
- The motion also asked council to reaffirm that public trust in the STM’s independence matters and that partisan appointments weaken that trust. That statement was not adopted.
What it means for you#
- Transit users and the public: The rejected motion did not require a new nomination process or public call for candidates. It made no change to the STM board through this decision.
- The STM and its board: The motion’s recitals said the board appointed by the current administration had 10 members, including five from Ensemble Montréal and a chair with a deciding vote in a tie. These are claims in the motion; the supplied material does not independently verify them.
Money#
No cost information is in the available material.
- The motion gave no estimate of the cost of repeating the nomination process.
What is unclear#
- The motion did not set out how nominees would be assessed or how the new process would work, beyond requiring a public call for the transit-user representative.
- The supplied material gives no explanation for why council rejected the motion.
Case for#
- The motion argued that a new process could address concerns about transparency and public trust, including that nomination documents were made available only 90 minutes before the council meeting.
- It also pointed to the value of independent members with relevant expertise and a public process for choosing the transit-user representative.
Case against#
- The motion did not specify selection rules or independence criteria for the new nominations. A public call was required only for the transit-user representative.
- Repeating nominations by set deadlines could require administrative work, but the material gives no estimate of the workload or cost.