Raymond Renaud

Raymond Renaud was a politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was mayor of the suburban community of Saint-Leonard from 1984 to 1990, leading the municipal Ralliement de Saint-Léonard party.

Renaud was first elected as a Saint-Leonard councillor in 1978. He was re-elected in 1982 as a member of mayor Antonio di Ciocco's Équipe du renouveau de la cité de Saint-Léonard. This group dissolved after Di Ciocco's death, and Renaud formed the Ralliement de Saint-Léonard as a successor party.

Renaud was elected as mayor of Saint-Leonard in September 1984, winning a by-election that followed di Ciocco's death. This election was extremely divisive, dominated by a rival candidate's charge that the city had acted improperly in a land purchase; after the vote, Renaud filed libel suits against both of his opponents. Renaud's newly formed Ralliement de Saint-Léonard became the majority party on council in this period, including in its ranks many former members of the defunct Renewal Party.

Shortly after assuming office, Renaud fired his personal secretary on the grounds that she had campaigned for one of his opponents. A Quebec Superior Court judge later ruled that this decision was unjust.

As mayor, Renaud promoted a new arts centre and a renovation project for Jean Talon Street. He reluctantly accepted the city’s decision to withdraw from both projects in June 1985, acknowledging that it had been a mistake to move forward without the provincial government's guarantee of support. He supported a revised Jean Talon Street project, less expensive than the original, later in the same year.

Renaud was re-elected in the 1986 municipal election, defeating three rivals as his Ralliement de Saint-Léonard party won 10 of 12 seats on council. On election night, Renaud was quoted as saying "The opposition? There is no opposition in St. Leonard." He served a four-year term as mayor and was second vice-president of the regional Montreal Urban Community in 1989–90.

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