Notre-Dame-de-Grace—Westmount

Combining the affluent municipality of Westmount with the broader neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grace and the Town of Montreal West, this Montreal riding was created through the 2012 redistribution. The seat was held by Liberal Marc Garneau, who had first been elected to Parliament in 2008 in the predecessor riding of Westmount—Ville-Marie and had served since 2015 as Minister of Transport in the Trudeau cabinet.

Candidates

Marc Garneau (Liberal) — Canada's first astronaut, Garneau flew three space shuttle missions beginning with STS-41-G in 1984. He earned a doctorate in electrical engineering from Imperial College London and rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Canadian Navy before leading the Canadian Space Agency as its president. Elected to Parliament in 2008, he was named Minister of Transport in November 2015, a portfolio in which he introduced an airline passenger bill of rights and oversaw national transportation safety initiatives.

Franklin Gertler (NDP) — A Montreal lawyer, Gertler specialized in environmental, First Nations, energy, natural resources, administrative, and constitutional law. His firm represented First Nations, environmental organizations, and citizen groups.

Neil Drabkin (Conservative) — Drabkin carried the Conservative banner in a riding where the party has historically struggled to gain traction against entrenched Liberal support.

Robert Green (Green Party) — A history teacher at Westmount High School, Green had been active in student politics at Concordia University, where he served two terms as president of the students' union. He campaigned on the urgency of addressing the climate crisis.

Jennifer Jette (Bloc Quebecois) and Andre Valiquette (People's Party) also stood as candidates, along with Jeffery A. Thomas (Independent) and Rachel Hoffman (ML).

About the Riding

Westmount, a self-governing municipality of roughly 20,000 on the southern slope of Mount Royal, is one of Canada's wealthiest communities, with stately homes and tree-lined streets. Notre-Dame-de-Grace, known locally as NDG, is a working-to-middle-class district of roughly 68,000 that has experienced steady gentrification, anchored by Monkland Village's independent shops and restaurants. Montreal West is a small anglophone town of about 5,000 residents. The riding is highly educated, with nearly half of residents holding a university degree, and predominantly anglophone. Loyola Campus of Concordia University is a major local institution. Transit improvements, cycling infrastructure, environmental sustainability, and the preservation of Westmount's heritage architecture were among the issues animating the 2019 campaign. Garneau's dual role as a Cabinet minister and local representative gave NDG—Westmount a direct line to the federal government on transportation policy, a factor that shaped much of the local political discussion.