----Aylmer district independent candidate Steven Boivin

Steven Boivin, President and co-Founder of local podcasting company Transistor Média, recently launched his campaign to become the next municipal councillor of the Aylmer district. He stated that he is dedicated to amplifying his impact on the community by helping the city optimize local infrastructural development and improve its communication capacities with residents

Boivin formally announced that he is campaigning as an independent candidate during a special unveiling event at 5e Baron on August 25. Hopefully continuing Audrey Bureau’s success over her previous four years in office as fruitfully as possible, Boivin told the Aylmer Bulletin that he confidently believes he is the best person to lead Aylmer and the city in an increasingly prosperous direction going forward. “I didn’t wait for politics to get involved in the community,” Boivin said. “I was already involved.”

Consulting his family before deciding to run, Boivin said he was largely incentivized after a few one-on-one discussions with Bureau about their love for Aylmer as a district and a sector, its place in Gatineau’s future, and its issues that need to be addressed. If elected, Boivin assures citizens that his dedication to their needs and wants would be second to none. Prioritizing the improvement of community services to improve residents’ quality of life, addressing environmental issues, and highlighting local culture would be his top-of-mind topics going into his campaign.

In particular, he wants the city to make roads safer in residential areas to allow children to roam and play safely in their neighbourhoods, to optimize local economic recovery strategies and provide support for local businesses and entrepreneurs, and to bridge the communication gap between the state and the people. “I want to work proactively instead of reactively,” Boivin said, stating that Aylmer’s population is fast rising and that the city needs to manage its infrastructural development accordingly. “I want the community to choose how it wants to build and I want to accompany it in doing that.”

Boivin added that he wants to be a difference maker for numerous major projects in the city, such as the revitalization of Parc des Cèdres, the new Lucy-Faris Library project, the Société de Transport de l’Outaouais’ (STO) multi-billion-dollar tramway project in Gatineau’s west end, and the city’s upcoming Particular Urbanism Project for Old Aylmer. “The people of Aylmer have a strong attachment to their neighbourhood: its heritage, its environment, its ambiance, and its human scale,” he added. “I think many citizens often feel misunderstood by the municipal administration and are apprehensive about real estate development that is occurring at great speed without services and infrastructures being well planned. It takes a lot of convincing to defend the values of Aylmer’s people at the council table. And I hope to earn their trust to be that person.”

Boivin is a father, entrepreneur, and proud Aylmer resident since settling in the sector with his family in 2017. He has notably represented a number of local organizations in different capacities, such as President of the Aylmer Association of Industrials, Professionals, and Merchants (APICA), Secretary of Aydelu Inc, member of the city’s Commission des arts, de la culture, des lettres, et du patrimoine, and co-founder of the local wrestling organization Lutte 07. Boivin said that entering politics felt like a logical next step of his engagement in the community, allowing him to progressively contribute to more positive things. “I really have Aylmer’s development at heart, and I think the best way for me to contribute to it is at the councillors’ table,” he added.