Working the Political Field in Stormy Weather: A Mayor's Role in the Quebec Municipal Mergers.

Canadian political science often neglects the municipal level as a legitimate research subject, even when large-scale transformations are implemented, such as the 2001 territorial reorganization in Quebec. This paper shows how mayors were involved in municipal mergers, mainly led by the provincial government, and especially how they played different roles in order to ensure their legitimacy as leaders of their communities. Specifically, the creation of the City of Saguenay has been studied through an examination of the activities, strategies and discourses of the mayors of this agglomeration in order to highlight normal and extraordinary levels of action. In doing so, this article contributes new knowledge of the mayors' own conceptions of their duties and roles and also of the rescaling process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]