Soraya Martínez Ferrada | |
|---|---|
 Martínez Ferrada in 2025 | |
| 46thMayor of Montreal | |
| Assumed office November 13, 2025[1] | |
| Preceded by | Valérie Plante |
| Leader of Ensemble Montréal | |
| Assumed office February 28, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Aref Salem |
| Minister of Tourism | |
| In office July 26, 2023 – February 5, 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Randy Boissonnault |
| Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec | |
| In office July 26, 2023 – February 5, 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Pascale St-Onge |
| Succeeded by | Pascale St-Onge |
| Member of Parliament forHochelaga | |
| In office October 21, 2019 – March 23, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet |
| Succeeded by | Marie-Gabrielle Ménard |
| Montreal City Councillor | |
| In office November 6, 2005 – November 2, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Paolo Tamburello |
| Succeeded by | Frantz Benjamin |
| Constituency | Saint-Michel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Soraya Marisel Martínez Ferrada (1972-08-28)August 28, 1972 (age 53) Santiago, Chile |
| Political party | Liberal (federal) Ensemble Montréal (municipal) |
| Other political affiliations | Coalition Montréal (2013) Vision Montréal (2007–2013) Union Montréal (until 2007) |
| Spouse | Pascal Delinois |
| Residence(s) | Saint-Michel,[2]Montreal,Quebec |
| Alma mater | HEC Montréal (MM) |
Soraya Marisel Martínez Ferrada[3][4] (born August 28, 1972) is a Chilean-Canadian politician who has served as themayor of Montreal and leader ofEnsemble Montréal since 2025. A member of theLiberal Party, she previously served as themember of Parliament (MP) forHochelaga from 2019 to 2025, and as a federalCabinet minister from 2023 to 2025.[5]
Martínez Ferrada was born on August 28, 1972 inSantiago,Chile, to Omar Martínez Prieto and Maritza Inés Ferrada Videla.[4] Her family moved toCanada in 1980, fleeing themilitary dictatorship ofAugusto Pinochet.[6] Martínez Ferrada lived in the East End ofMontreal, as well asLongueuil andPointe-aux-Trembles. She graduated fromHEC Montréal in 2005, with aMaster of Management (MM) degree.[7]
In2005, she was elected to theMontreal City Council for the electoral district of Saint-Michel as a member ofUnion Montréal. In 2007, she joinedVision Montréal, serving until2009, when she lost to Union Montréal candidateFrantz Benjamin. From 2009 to 2013, Martínez Ferrada worked for Vision Montréal and in the office ofLouise Harel.[8] In the2013 Montreal municipal election, Martínez Ferrada ran to be the borough mayor ofVilleray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension withCoalition Montréal, placing second toAnie Samson ofÉquipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal. Prior to her election to the House of Commons, Martínez Ferrada worked as a communityParliament Hill staffer inMélanie Joly's office.[9]
A member of theLiberal Party, Martínez Ferrada ran as the party's candidate inHochelaga in the2019 Canadian federal election. She gained her seat from theNew Democratic Party, by a tight margin over theBloc Québécois.[10] It was the first time the riding had been won by a Liberal sinceJean-Claude Malépart had won it in 1988.
Following her election, Martínez Ferrada was appointed asParliamentary Secretary to theMinister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship,Marco Mendicino.[7][11] After being re-elected in2021, she was appointedMinister of Tourism andMinister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec in 2023.[12] On February 6, 2025, Martínez Ferrada announced she would stand down at the2025 Canadian federal election.[13]
In February 2025, she resigned from theCabinet and as the Liberal Party national campaign co-chair to seek the leadership of theEnsemble Montréal. She was elected leader by acclamation on February 28, becoming the party's candidate for mayor in the2025 Montreal municipal election. Martínez Ferrada focused her campaign on housing and affordability, and promised a review of the city's bike lanes. In May, she apologized after it was reported that she accepted an illegal security deposit from a tenant renting her family home.[14] She was endorsed by Équipe Anjou, Équipe LaSalle Team, and the city's business community.[15][16][17][18] She was elected mayor on November 2, defeatingLuc Rabouin ofProjet Montréal. Her party also won a majority of seats on theMontreal City Council. She is the firstLatin American Canadian to serve as the city's mayor.[19]
She is married to Pascal Delinois, and lives in theSaint-Michel neighbourhood ofVilleray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension in Montreal.[20]
| 2021 Canadian federal election:Hochelaga | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Soraya Martínez Ferrada | 18,197 | 38.14 | +4.19 | $93,080.02 | |||
| Bloc Québécois | Simon Marchand | 15,089 | 31.63 | -1.71 | $47,805.08 | |||
| New Democratic | Catheryn Roy-Goyette | 9,723 | 20.38 | -0.91 | $36,496.68 | |||
| Conservative | Aime Calle Cabrera | 2,221 | 4.66 | +0.17 | none listed | |||
| People's | Marc-André Doucet-Beauchamp | 1,081 | 2.27 | +1.56 | $0.00 | |||
| Green | Zachary Lavarenne | 965 | 2.02 | -2.92 | $0.00 | |||
| Rhinoceros | Alan Smithee | 238 | 0.50 | -0.09 | none listed | |||
| Communist | Michelle Paquette | 108 | 0.22 | +0.03 | $0.00 | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | Christine Dandenault | 82 | 0.17 | -0.03 | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 47,706 | – | – | $110,275.75 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 867 | |||||||
| Turnout | 61.63 | -5.17 | ||||||
| Registered voters | 78,814 | |||||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | +2.96 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[21] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election:Hochelaga | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Soraya Martínez Ferrada | 18,008 | 33.95 | +4.03 | $79,299.74 | |||
| Bloc Québécois | Simon Marchand | 17,680 | 33.34 | +5.61 | none listed | |||
| New Democratic | Catheryn Roy-Goyette | 11,451 | 21.59 | -9.30 | $44,334.97 | |||
| Green | Robert D. Morais | 2,618 | 4.94 | +1.75 | none listed | |||
| Conservative | Christine Marcoux | 2,381 | 4.49 | -2.36 | $4,785.89 | |||
| People's | Stepan Balatsko | 377 | 0.71 | – | none listed | |||
| Rhinoceros | Chinook Blais-Leduc | 314 | 0.59 | -0.20 | none listed | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | Christine Dandenault | 107 | 0.20 | -0.08 | none listed | |||
| Communist | JP Fortin | 107 | 0.19 | -0.15 | $865.68 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 53,037 | 98.32 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 907 | 1.68 | +0.02 | |||||
| Turnout | 53,944 | 65.09 | +1.56 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 82,881 | |||||||
| Liberalgain fromNew Democratic | Swing | +6.66 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[22][23] | ||||||||
| 2025 Montreal municipal election:Mayor | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Ensemble Montréal | Soraya Martinez Ferrada | 178,618 | 43.40 | |||||
| Projet Montréal | Luc Rabouin | 144,235 | 35.05 | |||||
| Action Montréal | Gilbert Thibodeau | 41,818 | 10.16 | +9.13 | ||||
| Transition Montréal | Craig Sauvé | 34,787 | 8.45 | |||||
| Futur Montréal | Jean-François Kacou | 8,723 | 2.12 | |||||
| Independent | Fang Hu | 1,202 | 0.29 | +0.04 | ||||
| Independent | Jean Duval | 1,187 | 0.29 | +0.02 | ||||
| Independent | Katy Le Rougetel | 995 | 0.24 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 411,565 | 97.73 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 9,550 | 2.27 | ||||||
| Turnout | 421,115 | 37.07 | -1.25 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 1,135,883 | |||||||
| 2009 Montreal municipal election:City Councillor-Saint-Michel | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Union Montreal | Frantz Benjamin | 2,898 | 43.41 | -1.80 | ||||
| Vision Montreal | Soraya Martinez Ferrada | 2,478 | 37.12 | -5.86 | ||||
| Projet Montréal | Jack Thierry Morency | 891 | 13.35 | +1.54 | ||||
| Montréal Ville-Marie | Valentino Nelson | 409 | 6.13 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 6,676 | 93.38 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 435 | 6.12 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 7,111 | 32.66 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 21,770 | – | – | |||||
| 2005 Montreal municipal election:City Councillor-Saint-Michel | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Citizens Union | Soraya Martinez Ferrada | 2,883 | 45.21 | +15.59 | ||||
| Vision Montreal | Nicole Roy-Arcelin | 2,741 | 42.98 | -22.26 | ||||
| Projet Montréal | Eric Daoust | 1,965 | 23.39 | new | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 6,377 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | – | – | – | |||||
| Turnout | – | – | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | – | – | – | |||||
