In my conversations, I find that few people closely follow municipal politics. When I point out that the minutes from the last six months aren’t available, I’m told it hardly matters—almost no one reads them. So how do people keep themselves informed about local politics if council meetings draw only about thirty attendees per month?
So, how do residents stay informed about local politics, given that council meetings attract only about thirty people per month?
A Léger poll conducted in January 2025 among 1,500 people shows that mayors and councils in smaller towns enjoy high satisfaction rates, despite lingering confusion about their responsibilities. In other words, people trust their elected officials while knowing little about their role—sometimes not even their names. And, generally across Québec, it seems to me that few citizens attend council meetings regularly or take the time to read the minutes.
Yet expectations for municipal elected officials are often higher than for the provincial and federal levels, because municipal decisions directly affect daily life.
Survey Highlights
- The poll shows that seven in ten people are interested in municipal decisions, but only 15% say they are very interested.
- Fewer than 50% of citizens in these localities know who the members of their municipal council are.
- As for mayors, 77% of people know who they are. But in nearly 50% of cases, that recognition doesn’t go beyond remembering their name.
- The role and responsibilities of municipal councillors also remain unclear, as barely four out of ten people know what they actually do.
- Half of those surveyed by Léger have no idea of a mayor’s average salary and tend to overestimate it.
- Respondents believe the many mid-term resignations by elected officials are due to a toxic climate—pressures or conflicts within council, harassment or intimidation, and tensions with citizens.
Conclusion
The work of councillors remains little recognized by the public: a role often undervalued and subject to considerable pressure. As a result, it’s difficult to attract more candidates and, above all, to strengthen diversity on council. In North Hatley, for example, 67% of seats were filled by acclamation.
We therefore need concrete ways to interest more people in municipal politics: improve the climate, energize public dialogue, and value citizen expertise in order to encourage greater participation and more candidacies.
