Louise Harel served as a PQ MNA for nearly three decades. (Photo courtesy of Vision Montréal)A relative newcomer to municipal politics, Vision Montréal's Louise Harel has faced an uphill battle, due in part to her 27 years of experience in provincial politics as a longtime Parti Québécois MNA and former minister.

Perhaps best known as the municipal affairs minister who implemented the reform that led to the merger of communities on the island of Montreal, Harel has also been criticized for her limited ability to speak English.

In March, Harel came under fire for comments she made in an interview, referring to the city as a series of ethnic enclaves. Harel said those comments were blown out of proportion.

Harel has made cleaning up politics at city hall her top priority – a plan that faced a hurdle Oct. 18 when she was forced to fire her second-in-command, Benoît Labonté, after revelations he had met with and accepted donations from a construction entrepreneur at the centre of the city’s water-meter scandal.

Harel is also proposing sweeping changes to the organization of the city that would take responsibilities away from the boroughs and centralize them at city hall, including road work, snow removal, garbage collection, water management and economic development.

Harel served at national assembly for 27 years

Born in 1946, Louise Harel joined Vision Montréal as the party’s leader in June after newspaper polls suggested she could be a strong contender in the Nov. 1 municipal election.

Harel left provincial politics in November 2008 after serving 27 years as the MNA for the riding of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

With a background in sociology, Harel worked for the Social Development Council of Metropolitan Montréal before completing a law degree at the University of Montreal in 1977. She was called to the Quebec bar in 1978.

Harel served as the vice-president of the Parti Québécois from 1979-1981.

In addition to serving as municipal affairs minister during her time at the national assembly, Harel also acted as employment minister, immigration minister, and was the first woman to be named Speaker of the national assembly.

Harel also served as interim Parti Québécois leader following the resignation of former premier Bernard Landry.