On 14 April 2025, the Ghislain Dufour Business Forum had the pleasure of welcoming Catherine Fournier, Mayor of Longueuil. Introduced by André Bouthillier, Executive Vice President of NATIONAL Public Relations, our guest began by reminding Forum members of the reasons behind her entry into political life, which, in 2015-2016, was not getting very good press. Ms. Fournier said that she believed deeply in public service and in the possibility of changing things.
It was in this spirit that Mayor Fournier took the time to meet with the members of the NATIONAL Public Relations committee of young professionals, which, as its name suggests, brings together our young colleagues who will be shaping the future of our company and the field of public relations. Ms. Fournier explained to them and to the members of the Forum that her commitment is to highlight the beautiful side of politics and the public sector, despite the complexity of the challenges facing elected officials. For example, the mayor of Longueuil mentioned the fact that since she took office three years ago, the city has had three events that were qualified as the storm of the century. "Events like these force us to rethink our cities and the way we occupy urban territory," she said. Ms. Fournier pointed out that 21% of her city's territory is now protected in perpetuity, which adds to the complexity of building projects from the dual perspective of densification and environmental protection.
As a result, it has become essential to bring development partners together, especially given that Longueuil will have to accommodate no less than 30,000 new residential units between now and 2041 in order to keep pace with the significant growth of its community. One of the major challenges posed by such growth is the issuing of building permits. Mayor Fournier has set a target of 30 days for processing permit applications!
One of the major economic projects attracting the attention of the Longueuil administration is the Montreal Metropolitan Airport, the second airport in Greater Montreal, located in Saint-Hubert. Designed to adapt to its environment while respecting communities, it will be used by the quietest and most energy-efficient aircraft. Montreal's metropolitan airport is part of Espace Aéro, Quebec's aerospace innovation zone, which ranks third in the world after Toulouse and Seattle.
Ms. Fournier concluded her presentation by emphasizing that she remembers her first term as mayor of Longueuil as a time when she worked together to ensure the progress and success of the projects driving her city and the agglomeration to which it belongs. Our guest generously answered questions from Forum members during a discussion moderated by Noémie Tétreault, Senior Consultant, Corporate Communications at NATIONAL, before receiving thanks from Mirabel Paquette, Partner and Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications at NATIONAL and Coordinator of the Ghislain Dufour Business Forum.
The Mayor of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier, surrounded by members of the committee of young professionals from the NATIONAL Montreal.
From left to right: Alexe Constantineau, Associate, Organizations and Stakeholders at NATIONAL, Noémie Tétreault, Senior Consultant, Corporate Communications at NATIONAL, our guest Catherine Fournier, André Bouthillier, Executive Vice President at NATIONAL and Mirabel Paquette, Partner and Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications at NATIONAL and Coordinator of the Ghislain Dufour Business Forum.
About Forum Ghislain Dufour du monde des affairesR
The Ghislain Dufour Business Forum allows business people to meet and engage in dialogue with Quebec and Canadian political and business figures, political advisors or high-level public administrators on an apolitical and non-partisan basis. For more information, visit the event page.
