One of Projet Montréal mayoral candidate's recent ads calls her "l'homme de la situation". The controversy was deliberate. In French, expressions such as "J'vais mettre un homme là-dessus" don't really have a feminine equivalent.
Getting to know Valérie Plante: http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/would-be-montreal-mayor-valer...
Actually, she is every bit as committed to public and active transport as Richard Bergeron was; she is simply a far less rigid personality type.