After the departure of Aref Salem Coderre, he became the interim director of the Montreal ensemble

Aref Salem, a long-time member of the city council, will take over the leadership of the official opposition in Montreal city hall.

At a press conference Tuesday morning, Salem was introduced as the interim leader of the Montreal ensemble.

On November 7, Valérie Plante easily defeated the former leader of the party, Denis Coderre, and retained the post of mayor of Montreal.

Last Friday, Coderre announced his permanent retirement from politics.

During the recent municipal elections, Salem was elected for the fourth time in a row as a city councilor in St. Laurence County.

Salem said on Tuesday that he would remain the party's interim leader for at least three years and that the party would be ready to take back the mayor's office in 2025.

“We have a lot of challenges ahead of us,” said Salem, who also singled out the Montreal Ensemble as a party that needs to rebuild after its latest defeat.

From 2013 to 2017, he was responsible for the transportation file of the city executive committee under the administration of Salem Coderre.