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A year ago, she was unknown to most Montrealers.

On Sunday, she became the city’s first female mayor.

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Valérie Plante’s meteoric rise to the city’s top job was as remarkable as it seemed unlikely just a year ago, when she wasn’t even considered a top contender to take the helm of Projet Montréal.

“We made history together. We did it together,” Plante told a jubilant crowd of supporters at the Corona Theatre in Little Burgundy on Sunday night. “Tonight, we wrote a new page in Montreal’s history. Three hundred and seventy five years after Jeanne Mance co-founded the city, Montreal has its first woman mayor. And I’m excited to write the continuation of this history with all of you.”

She thanked supporters, and pledged to work hard to bring all of Montreal’s communities together.

Photo by Allen McInnis / Montreal Gazette

Later, Plante told reporters she wasn’t surprised by the result, because she was able to feel on the ground there was a thirst for change among Montrealers.