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Outgoing Montreal mayor Denis Coderre pauses during a news conference in Montreal on Nov. 8, 2017.Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press

Denis Coderre took note of the booming economy, restored pride and innumerable construction projects in Montreal that marked his four-year term as mayor before he got to the item that may be his greatest accomplishment.

"I think I broke a record, going four years without an investigation, resignation or incarceration at City Hall," Mr. Coderre said during his farewell news conference on Wednesday. "It's a joke, but when I arrived, Montreal had a self-esteem problem, a dignity problem. Montreal had been abused. Montreal was hurting and now it's once again a juggernaut, and I'm very proud."

Mr. Coderre, 54, went down to defeat in Sunday's municipal election with a 46-per-cent share of the vote after running a campaign largely on his record as mayor. He will leave politics when his replacement, Valérie Plante, is sworn in on Nov. 16. He said he has no plans for the future.

Ms. Plante, 43, beat him by five percentage points, making big promises to make it easier for Montrealers to get around, including large improvements in transit.

During Mr. Coderre's time in office, billions were spent on sewers, water mains and roads and millions more on athletic events, car races and other draws to bring in tourists and boost civic pride. The city became difficult to navigate because of construction – a key frustration for voters, polls showed – and the events became entangled in controversy over cost, transparency and inconvenience.

"We did more in four years than was done in the previous 15," Mr. Coderre said.

The hyperactive agenda combined with Mr. Coderre's brash, sometimes arrogant, public persona, caused fatigue with many voters. And many Montrealers were more interested in what Ms. Plante planned next for the city than Mr. Coderre's past accomplishments.

Ms. Plante, meanwhile, is in the midst of a honeymoon. Political leaders at all levels have sought to be at her side this week, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Some real business began on Wednesday as she met with Montreal police Chief Philippe Pichet and the head of the transit authority Philippe Schnobb, whose agency will be instrumental in delivering her main promise to improve transit.

Speculation has already begun about the next step for Mr. Coderre, a fixture on the Quebec political scene since he became a Liberal MP in 1997.

He has never run provincially. The provincial Liberal minister in charge of Montreal, Martin Coiteux, sang Mr. Coderre's praises on Wednesday.

"Montreal is in a completely different situation than four years ago. It has rediscovered prosperity, rediscovered confidence, rediscovered integrity," Mr. Coiteux said. "Denis Coderre's work over the past four years must not be forgotten."

Parti Québécois Leader Jean-François Lisée, an ideological adversary of the staunch federalist and Liberal Mr. Coderre, went even further describing Mr. Coderre as "a strong leader that was needed after a very dark period in Montreal. He can leave with his head held high."

"When the history of Montreal is written, the Coderre era will go down as one of redemption for the city," Mr. Lisée said.

When asked whether Mr. Coderre should run provincially with an election 11 months away, Mr. Coiteux answered: "One never knows what may happen in life. You never know."

Mr. Coderre said he is not preparing for provincial politics. "I'm going to find myself, work on getting healthier, read, go to the movies," he said. "We'll see after that."

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