Alex Norris used to cover election campaigns as a journalist, until he discovered Projet Montreal and decided to join the other side.

The third party in Montreal's municipal politics was created five years ago as a progressive, green alternative to Union Montreal and Vision Montreal.

Norris is running in the Plateau-Mont Royal, where party leader Richard Bergeron was elected in 2005.

"Think of us on November first," said Norris as he campaigned door-to-door.

The Plateau is where Projet Montreal stands to make its biggest gains.

"The mayor's party and madame Harel's party Vision Montreal, in the last election outspent us 20 to 1 on the Plateau, and we still got 30 per cent of the vote. That says money doesn't count for everything in politics," said Norris.

Norris says residents in the Plateau see Louise Harel, mayoral candidate for Vision Montreal, as a divisive figure, and many have not forgotten the way Mayor Gerald Tremblay handled the name change fiasco on Park avenue.

"It took a popular uprising for the mayor to change his mind, just like it took a massive citizens' mobilization effort to get these stop signs," said Norris.

Breaking with tradition

Norris says that voters in the area want a change, which they demonstrated last year when Thomas Mulcair was the first NDP candidate to win a seat in Quebec in a general election.

Then residents elected Amir Khadir as the first Quebec Solidaire politician in the National Assembly, in a riding that had ritually selected a Parti Quebecois representative.

Khadir's wife Nima hopes to win a municipal seat of her own, but admits getting voters on board is not always easy.

"Some of them don't think we cannot do what we propose to them and we cannot realize our objectives," said Nima Machouf, who is running in the Jeanne-Mance district.

The other challenge for Projet Montreal is getting as much visiblity as it can.

Having one elected member isn't enough, so candidate Luc Ferrandez's solution is to host sidewalk parties.

Every week, he sets up in a different part of the Plateau to make his pitch for safer streets.

"I think it's now or never, and everyone knows this too," said Ferrandez. "We are fighting hard, and really hard."