Bélanger was a member of mayor Jean Drapeau's Civic Party of Montreal.
[2] Drapeau retired with the 1986 municipal election, in which the opposition Montreal Citizens' Movement (MCM) won a landslide majority on city council under Jean Doré's leadership.
During this campaign, Lajeunesse accused Bélanger of attempting to scare voters in low-income neighbourhoods and retirement homes by claiming that municipal subsidies would be cut off in the event of a MCM victory.
[4] He tried to return to council in the 1990 municipal election and finished third in the François-Perrault division against MCM candidate Vittorio Capparelli.
[5] Bélanger was an ally of Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Jean-Claude Malepart, who helped canvass for his municipal campaigns.