Today FCM announced that Alan DeSousa, Mayor of Saint-Laurent, QC has been nominated by the FCM President to be the next Chair of the Green Municipal Fund Council. Mayor DeSousa brings to the role many years of experience and expertise in sustainability and municipal leadership and will serve as GMF Council Chair until March 31, 2024.
The pivotal role of GMF Council Chair will help chart the path to net-zero for municipalities across the country, leading transformational change in the energy, affordable housing, transportation, land use, water, and waste sectors.
Mayor DeSousa is serving his sixth term as the Mayor of Saint-Laurent, QC and has served on the City of Montreal's executive committee for over 11 years. He also served on the Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC) council from 2002 to 2017 and was a member of the MMC executive committee for eight years.
Mayor DeSousa is the architect of Montreal's sustainable development and environmental policies, taking them from planning to implementation. Under his leadership, Saint-Laurent became sustainable municipal territory in 2019 and became the same year the first Québec municipal entity with over 100,000 residents to complete the final phase of the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program.
Led by Mayor DeSousa, Saint-Laurent has received several awards for its work on sustainability issues. For instance, its biodiversity corridor has received two national awards since 2020 by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. Moreover, its Bibliothèque du Boisé has received the 2017 Green Building Award by the RAIC and the Canada Green Building Council.
With more than 30 years' experience working in public administration, Mayor DeSousa has an extensive understanding of public administration and decision-making within municipal governments. In 2014, he received the Green Champion Award from FCM and the Government Leadership Award from the Canada Green Building Council. He was appointed to the GMF Council in June 2018 and is the current Vice-Chair of the GMF Council and Chair of the Audit Committee.
Mayor DeSousa is assuming this role from Ben Henderson, who served as GMF Council Chair since 2015, during which time monumental advances occurred at GMF. These include the successful work undertaken by FCM that resulted in the federal government entrusting us with an additional $950 million endowment to form our Community Efficiency Financing, Community Buildings Retrofit and Sustainable Affordable Housing initiatives as well as LC3 Network, while also ensuring GMF delivers equitable investments that reflect and build diverse and inclusive communities. FCM deeply appreciates Mr. Henderson’s significant contributions throughout his tenure.
GMF is a $1.65 billion endowment from the Government of Canada and delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which proudly supports municipalities of all sizes across Canada in bringing their sustainability projects to life. Since its inception two decades ago, GMF has invested in 1,738 projects, helped avoid 2.75 million tonnes of CO2 and helped create 12,908 person-years of employment.