In a move emblematic of his low-key political style, Projet Montréal leader Luc Rabouin said it was a pivotal decision that most people didn’t know about at the time — not even those directly affected — that ultimately convinced him to vie to become the city’s next mayor.

Montreal’s executive committee was presented with an analysis from civil servants on the feasibility of the city acquiring 31 low-rent apartment buildings in Côte-des-Neiges that a private landlord wanted to offload. While the city had used its right-of-first refusal previously to acquire smaller properties like rooming houses, it had never before made a purchase this big.

“They said ‘It’s too big. It’s too fast. There are people who are living there. We don’t know the exact state of the buildings, whether they are in g

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