Shortcomings and Criticism
However, Vision Montreal's performance was not beyond reproach.
On the other hand Bourque was criticized for his perceived lack of flexibility. During his first term, he suffered a mutiny within his party. Fifteen of his councillors left his administration to sit as Independents. By August 1997, only a minority of the councilmembers (24 out of 51) were members of Vision Montreal.
Furthermore, the merger was met with so much resistance from residents and politicians of Montreal’s predominantly English-speaking West Island that by 2005 fifteen municipalities had demerged from the city center. After it had reached 1.8 million people, the population of Montreal was reduced to 1.6 million residents.
Also, Bourque was often ridiculed because his strong emphasis on environmental issues was sometimes dismissed as nothing more than a simple annoyance. He was soon known as Géranium Ier (Geranium the First) to the public. During a May 12, 2006 interview with then journalist Bernard Drainville though, Bourque claimed that he was not offended by the nickname, pointing at the fact that there is nothing shameful about "being a gardener".
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