The latest poll showing a dead heat between the main Montreal mayoral candidates has the incumbent Denis Coderre staying on message and his rival Valérie Plante buoyed by the news.
The CROP Poll commissioned by Radio-Canada suggests the Projet Montreal leader would get 39% of the vote while Coderre would take 37%.
The undecided vote was at 17%.
Coderre said it's normal to see a tight race in elections and that while there is always room for improvement, the mayor insisted the city has been doing much better under his administration and that they should stay the course and "not start from zero."
As for the poll respondents who said Coderre was "arrogant," the mayor said "to be arrogant is to be determined," adding it takes a certain type of leadership to deal with a $5.2-billion dollar budget and 28,000 employees. He also cited the recent difficult labour relations and the Energy East issue. Coderre said he would not be changing his strategy.
Plante said Coderre is wrong to dismiss her and her team as too inxperienced to run the city.
"I find it funny because this is exactly what the Conservatives said in the past about the Justin Trudeau," said Plante.
"And now he's running the country with a much more bigger budget."
Plante cited her past work experience and the team around her that includes "lawyers, engineers, economists."
While Coderre said while his team has been able to concretely cost his promises, he argued his rival has been unable to put a hard dollar figure on all her projects. Plante insisted they do have the money to back them, pegging the cost at $60-million.
Both said it was important to get the vote out.
The municipal election takes place this Sunday.