She was chosen as MCM president in February 1994 and, in her first press conference, argued that the traditionally social democratic party would need to take a more pro-business direction.
[3] Roy ran for Montreal city council in the Laurier ward in the 1994 municipal election; at one stage in the campaign, she stood in for party leader and incumbent mayor Jean Doré in a debate on women's issues.
[4] The MCM was defeated by the Vision Montreal party on election day, although Roy won her own seat and joined council as an opposition member.
[5] Pierre Bourque, Montreal's new mayor, appointed her to chair the city's finance committee as part of a bid to include opposition parties in the governing process.
[13] The latter event was not a financial success, and Roy's early prediction that it would show a profit proved to be inaccurate.