At a local level, Housefather and his council were viewed as one of the most innovative councils in Quebec. Côte Saint-Luc built an $18 million Aquatic and Community Centre on time and under budget, and developed one of Montreal's leading aquatics programs. Under the Housefather administration, Côte Saint-Luc was the first city on the island of Montreal to launch a composting program for all single-family homes, the first to launch a food policy, and launched a farmer's market and community gardens. The median age of residents of the City of Côte Saint-Luc fell by seven years over Housefather's tenure as Mayor, as the community expanded high-quality programs for children and young adults and sponsored townhouses and other housing favourable to young families. But at the same time a permanent home was found for the city's seniors clubs and legion. Island-wide roles In addition to his duties within local government, between 2006 and 2015 Housefather also served as the Secretary of the Association of Suburban Municipalities (ASM), which represents the 15 demerged cities and towns on the Island of Montreal. Housefather was also a member of the island-wide Montreal agglomeration council and the agglomeration's Public Security Commission. Member of Parliament (2015–present) Federal Elections 2015 When Liberal Party of Canada MP Irwin Cotler announced he would not run in the 2015 federal election in the Mount Royal riding, Housefather was supported by most of the elected officials in the riding when he declared his intention to run. His Liberal nomination opponent was communications strategist Jonathan Goldbloom. Housefather said his 20 successful years in municipal politics were excellent preparation for the role of MP. Over the course of the year he signed up over 3,000 residents of the riding to support him at the nominating meeting. The Mount Royal nomination meeting took place on November 30, 2014. With 1,948 ballots cast, Housefather was declared the winner and the official Liberal Party candidate for the 2015 federal election. The Conservative Party targeted Mount Royal in the 2015 election, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper launching his party's campaign in Mount Royal. Housefather ran a vigorous door-to-door campaign, and managed to assemble support from a wide variety of communities within the riding as well as the majority of elected officials at the municipal and school board election. Housefather and the NDP candidate debated four times in the riding, with the Conservative candidate participating in two of