The first Filipino-Canadian to be elected district councilor in the Montreal borough of Cote-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grace (CDN-NDG) in 2021 was elected mayor of the same community on 2 November.
Stephanie Valenzuela, a resident of CDN-NDG for the past 34 years and graduate in Political Science and International Development from McGill University, belongs to the Ensemble Montreal party that dominated the 2025 municipal elections, including winning the mayorship of the Quebec province capital Montreal.
She beat rival and reelectionist mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa of the Projet Montreal party.
During the election campaign, Valenzuela promised to work for safe neighborhoods, affordable housing, welcoming green spaces, and accessible services in CDn-NDG’s five districts, according to her party’s website.
For her own district of Darlington, she plans to double the size of the basketball/netball court in Martin Luther King Park and begin construction of a sports and recreation center.