What you need to know about the Outaouais municipal elections

With one month to go before Quebec municipal elections, voters in Gatineau and Chelsea are assured of one thing: they will have a new mayor once results are tabulated on Nov. 7.

The vacancy in Gatineau was created when current mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin announced in January he would notseekre-election for the job he's held since 2013.

Two of the six candidates running to replace him are outgoing councillors.

Maude-Marquis Bissonnettewas first elected in 2017 and has replacedPedneaud-Jobin as the leader of Action Gatineau political parties are permitted at the municipal level in Quebecwhile Jean-Franois Leblanc is running as an independent.

The four other candidates are all independent. They includethe former president of Tourisme Outaouais, France Blisle;former Gatineau fire captain Jacques Lemay, who finished third in the 2013 mayoral race; Rmi Bergeron, who finished last in the 2017 election;and AbdelhakLekbabi, who is running forcouncil for the first time.

New faces in mostGatineau seats

Bissonnette and Leblanc aren't the only onesto leave their seats at the Gatineau city council table as the city is guaranteed to have new representation in nine additional districts.

When you addthecreation of a new electoral district of Mitigomijokanin Aylmer, and the election of a new mayor, it means 13of the 20seats at Gatineau council will have a new face.

Change is also guaranteed for the top job up the Gatineau River in Chelsea. After serving 12 years as mayor, Caryl Green is now running for warden of the regional county of MRC des Collines-de-l'Outaouais, one of the fastest growing counties in Quebec.

This municipal election marks the first time eligible voters will directly elect the county's warden, which is being changed from a part-time job to a full-time one.

Previous wardens were appointed by their fellow mayors after themunicipal election.

Green's competitors include former MNA and Val-des-Monts mayor, Marc Carrire, and former chair of the Cur-des-Vallesschool board Eric Antoine.

Shelley Fraser andPierre Gunardare competing to replace Green as mayor of Chelsea.

More than half of mayors already acclaimed

The contest for mayor won't even make it to the ballot box in some 30 Outaouais municipalities where the mayor is being acclaimedsinceno other candidate registered to run before the Oct. 1 deadline.

Among those with an acclaimed path to the mayorship: Benoit Lauzonin Thurso, Francine Fortinin Maniwaki, Luc Desjardinsin Ripon, andGaston Donovan in Bowman.

In La Pche, which includes the village of Wakefield,Guillaume Lamoureuxhopes to win a second term as mayor against his only opponent,Luc Richard.

David Gomes will give it a second try to become mayor of Cantleyafter losing in 2017 to current mayor Madeleine Brunette, who is not running for re-election. Gomes is up against current Cantley councillor Aime Sabourin.

Over in Pontiac, incumbent mayor Joanne Labadiewill be challenged by not one, but two former mayors.Roger Larose,whoshe unseated in 2017, and Edward McCann,who served as mayor from 1990 to 1994, and again from 2005 to 2013.

InVal-des-Monts, wherecurrent mayorJacques Laurinhas decided not to seek a third term, four candidates are competing to replace him, andeach of the municipality's six districts has at least two candidates running.

While most voters will head to the polls on election dayNov 7, voting by mailhas already begun for residents in long-term care homes, government-approved retirement homes, hospitals,and anyone else unable to make it to a polling station because of health reasons.