Soraya Martinez Ferrada

Early life and immigration

Soraya Martínez Ferrada was born in Santiago, Chile on August 28, 1972, to Omar Martínez Prieto and Maritza Inés Ferrada Videla. Her family had been active in Salvador Allende's Socialist Party, which led them to flee the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. In 1980, when she was eight years old, Martínez Ferrada arrived in Canada with her mother and brother as political refugees. The family initially settled in the Saint-Michel district in Montreal's east end. Growing up in Montreal, Longueuil, and Pointe-aux-Trembles, she gradually mastered French and identifies as a 'child of Bill 101', referring to Quebec's French-language charter.

Her early life in Canada involved significant economic challenges, which shaped her perspective on social issues. While raising two children and pursuing her education, she relied on food banks to support her family. Martínez Ferrada has cited her activist grandparents as a major source of inspiration for her own civic engagement. She pursued higher education at HEC Montréal, earning a Master of Management degree in 2005. These formative experiences of displacement, integration, and struggle directly informed her later political focus on community building, affordability, and access to opportunity.

Early municipal political career

Martínez Ferrada launched her political career at the municipal level in Montreal. In the November 2005 municipal election, she was elected as a city councillor for the district of Saint-Michel, running under the banner of Mayor Gérald Tremblay's Union Montréal. This victory marked the beginning of her formal service in the neighbourhood where her family first settled in Canada. She held this council seat until 2009, when she lost her bid for re-election to Union Montréal candidate Frantz Benjamin while running for the rival party Vision Montréal. Following her electoral defeat, she continued her involvement in municipal affairs by serving as chief of staff to Louise Harel, the leader of the Official Opposition at Montreal city hall.

During this initial phase of her career, she contributed to several significant local projects that had long-term impacts on her community. She played a role in the transformation of the former Miron Quarry landfill site into Frédéric-Back Park, a major sustainable development project. Martínez Ferrada also oversaw the completion of the undergrounding of power lines on Jarry Street, a infrastructure improvement residents had been requesting for four decades. In the 2013 Montreal municipal election, she ran to be the borough mayor of Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension with Coalition Montréal, placing second to Anie Samson of Équipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal. After this campaign, she stepped back from elected office to work in the community and cultural sectors, including a return to the organization TOHU, which she helped found to promote circus arts with a social mandate.

Federal political career

In 2015, Martínez Ferrada transitioned to federal politics, taking a position as a senior advisor to Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly. She later worked as a community staffer on Parliament Hill in Joly's office. In the 2019 Canadian federal election, she ran as the Liberal Party candidate in the riding of Hochelaga, located in southeast Montreal. She won the seat from the New Democratic Party by a tight margin over the Bloc Québécois, marking the first time the riding had elected a Liberal since Jean-Claude Malépart won it in 1988. Following her election, she was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marco Mendicino.

After being re-elected in the 2021 federal election, her responsibilities within the government expanded. In 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed her to the federal Cabinet as the Minister of Tourism and the Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. During her tenure as an MP, she also served as Parliamentary Secretary to the ministers of transport and housing. As a parliamentarian, she was vocal on social issues. In May 2024, she shared her personal story of having an abortion at age 18 during a House of Commons debate to show her concerns about abortion rights. On February 6, 2025, she announced she would not seek re-election in the upcoming federal election, setting the stage for her return to municipal politics.

Election as mayor of Montreal

In February 2025, shortly after announcing her departure from federal politics, Martínez Ferrada resigned from the Cabinet and her role as a national campaign co-chair for the Liberal Party. She then sought and won the leadership of Ensemble Montréal, the municipal party formerly known as Équipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal. She was elected leader by acclamation on February 28, 2025, becoming the party's candidate for mayor in the November 2025 Montreal municipal election. Her campaign faced an early controversy in May 2025 when she apologized after reports surfaced that she had accepted an illegal security deposit from a tenant renting her family home.

Her mayoral campaign positioned her as a candidate for change after eight years under the administration of Projet Montréal's Valérie Plante. She focused her platform on core issues of housing affordability and the cost of living, while also promising a review of the city's network of bike lanes, which had become a polarizing subject. Martínez Ferrada garnered endorsements from Équipe Anjou and segments of the city's business community. On November 2, 2025, she was elected mayor, defeating Luc Rabouin of Projet Montréal. Her party, Ensemble Montréal, also won a majority of seats on the Montreal City Council. She was sworn into office on November 13, 2025.

Mayoralty and policy priorities

Since taking office, Mayor Martínez Ferrada has set a governing agenda centred on economic vitality, housing, and civic engagement. She has actively sought a renewed partnership with the provincial government, asking Quebec to provide enhanced economic support to the city and to grant special status to Montreal's downtown core to aid its post-pandemic recovery. Her administration is conducting a review of mobility and transportation infrastructure, including the promised assessment of bicycle lane placements to balance various modes of transit. Housing policy is a central and ongoing focus, with initiatives aimed at increasing affordability and supply in a tight market to address resident concerns.

Martínez Ferrada has maintained a public profile as a keynote speaker at major national events, including addressing the 2026 Liberal Party convention and speaking at the Leadership and Innovation Breakfast (LIB2026). She frames her leadership through the lens of her personal history, emphasizing cultural sensitivity, immigrant integration, and the importance of access to culture. As mayor, she represents Montreal at domestic and international forums, such as the Hop! The Retail Summit in 2026, promoting the city's economic and cultural interests. Her approach combines the community-focused perspective from her early career with the executive experience gained at the federal level, aiming to address both local neighbourhood issues and the city's broader strategic challenges.

Personal life and public identity

Soraya Martínez Ferrada is married to Pascal Delinois, and the couple lives in the Saint-Michel neighbourhood of the Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension borough in Montreal. This choice of residence reinforces her deep connection to the community where her Canadian life began. She is fluent in French, English, and Spanish, reflecting her Chilean heritage and her life in multilingual Montreal. Her public identity is strongly shaped by her background as a political refugee and her family's activist legacy in Chile, factors she frequently references as the foundation of her commitment to social justice and inclusive politics.

Her journey from a child fleeing dictatorship to the mayor's office is a narrative she embraces, using it to connect with Montreal's diverse immigrant communities. Martínez Ferrada describes herself as driven by a deep commitment to her city, a sentiment that motivated her return from federal politics. As a public figure, she is noted for placing civic engagement and cultural access at the heart of her political work, principles that guide her policy decisions and community interactions as mayor. These elements of her identity are consistently woven into her public communications and policy rationale.

Electoral history and political milestones

Soraya Martínez Ferrada's political career includes several electoral victories and defeats that demonstrate her persistence. Her first foray into elected office was successful, but subsequent campaigns taught her lessons in resilience. She has experienced losing elections, including her 2009 re-election bid for city council and her 2013 run for borough mayor, experiences she has cited as formative for her leadership style. Her key victories, however, have broken significant political barriers in Montreal and federal politics, creating a record of historic firsts for representation in Quebec's largest city.

• 2005: Elected Montreal city councillor for Saint-Michel under Union Montréal.
• 2009: Lost re-election as a city councillor for Vision Montréal to Union Montréal candidate Frantz Benjamin.
• 2013: Placed second in election for borough mayor of Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension with Coalition Montréal, losing to Anie Samson.
• 2019: Elected Member of Parliament for Hochelaga as a Liberal, flipping a long-held NDP/Bloc seat. It was the first Liberal win in the riding since 1988.
• 2021: Re-elected as MP for Hochelaga.
• 2025: Elected Mayor of Montreal and leader of Ensemble Montréal, making history as the first Latin American Canadian mayor of the city.

Questions about Soraya Martinez Ferrada

Where was Soraya Martínez Ferrada born?

Soraya Martínez Ferrada was born in Santiago, Chile on August 28, 1972. Her family fled the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and arrived in Canada as political refugees in 1980 when she was eight years old. They settled in the Saint-Michel district of Montreal. Her Chilean heritage and experience as an immigrant are central to her personal identity and political narrative.

What is Soraya Martínez Ferrada's educational background?

Martínez Ferrada studied at HEC Montréal, a business school affiliated with the Université de Montréal. She earned a Master of Management degree in 2005. She pursued her higher education while raising two children and facing economic hardship, an experience that included relying on food banks. This period solidified her understanding of social challenges and informed her future policy focus.

How did she become mayor of Montreal?

She became mayor by winning the Montreal municipal election on November 2, 2025. Earlier that year, in February, she left federal politics, won the leadership of the Ensemble Montréal party by acclamation, and became its mayoral candidate. She defeated Luc Rabouin of Projet Montréal and was sworn in as mayor on November 13, 2025. Her party also secured a majority on city council.

What federal cabinet position did she hold?

Soraya Martínez Ferrada was appointed Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec in 2023. She held this federal cabinet position from 2023 until her departure from federal politics in 2025. Prior to this appointment, she served as the parliamentary secretary to the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, Marco Mendicino, after her initial election as the member of Parliament for Hochelaga in 2019. She was re-elected in the 2021 federal election before receiving her cabinet post.

Why is her election as mayor considered historic?

Her election is considered historic because she is the first Latin American Canadian to serve as mayor of Montreal. Martínez Ferrada was born in Santiago, Chile, and her family moved to Canada in 1980, fleeing the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. She was elected mayor on November 2, 2025, defeating Luc Rabouin of Projet Montréal. This victory represents a significant milestone for representation in the city.

What are her main priorities as mayor?

Her main priorities as mayor include housing, affordability, and a review of the city's bike lanes. She focused her mayoral campaign on these issues. As mayor, she has also asked the provincial government to provide economic support to the city and grant special status to its downtown core. Her platform positioned her as a candidate for change, targeting voters who felt misunderstood on everyday issues like transportation and mobility.

Sources and further reading

• Soraya Martinez Ferrada (Wikipedia)
• Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Hop! The Retail Summit 2026 (cqcd.org)
• Soraya Martinez Ferrada (thecanadianencyclopedia.ca)
• Soraya Martinez Ferrada (she/her) (startupfest.com)

Checked by the Nosy Mag desk. Last updated 2026-10-25.