Gerald Tremblay took what could be the first steps towards cleaning up Montreal city hall after he won a third-straight term as Montreal mayor on Sunday, despite lingering accusations about civic corruption.

Tremblay told reporters he would rebuild the public confidence in City Hall and announced he would suspend construction contracts until there is a more transparent system for awarding them.

He also promised to limit municipal activities to strictly what is considered essential, "until we shed some light on the rumours of collusion and corruption."

He was re-elected amid accusations that construction companies colluded with mobsters and funded political parties in order to drive up the cost of infrastructure projects.

"My challenge as mayor of all Montrealers is to re-establish their confidence in their municipal administration," Tremblay said.

"I'm aware that the administration has been shaken by the events of the past months and more particularly in the past weeks," Tremblay said Sunday. "Citizens want change and we embody this change."

Less than 40 per cent of eligible Montreal voters showed up at the polls Sunday and the 67-year-old Tremblay managed to garner less than 40 per cent of the ballots cast. But he still won and maintained a majority hold over the city council.

Parti Quebecois minister Louise Harel, 63, came in second, with 54-year-old Richard Bergeron coming in third.

But Tremblay's promises weren't enough to quiet his critics, who say that it is time to put City Hall under the magnifying glass.

Days before the election, former city councillor Benoit Labonte said Montreal is "rotten," "gangrenous" and riddled with mob corruption -- though he himself had to step down from his job after allegations surfaced that he received construction company donations when he sought leadership of the Vision Montreal party last year.

Retired judge John Gomery, who presided over the inquiry into the federal sponsorship scandal, says it's time for a public inquiry. He believes a public probe is needed to examine the allegations of collusion and bribery at City Hall.

Quebec Premier Jean Charest says changes are on the way, though he does not support Gomery's suggestion of holding a public inquiry.

"We are already examining a number of issues for which there will be changes -- the electoral laws, in regards to party financing at the municipal level," Charest told reporters Monday.

"Also, we have announced our intention to change the requirements of reporting of cities to the Department of Municipal Affairs to make it obligatory to transmit some information. And on the issue of contracting, we will sit down with out partners to look at how that is done."

Charest also shot down any notion that Montreal would be placed under the control of the province, despite a newspaper report that suggested the city would be placed under trusteeship to limit its control in awarding contracts.

"There was never any question of putting Montreal under trusteeship," Charest told reporters.

The premier said he plans to meet with Tremblay in the coming days to discuss the situation in Montreal.

The province's elections body will announce details Tuesday of a citizen's forum on political fundraising, raising the prospect of changes to the way parties are financed.

The Quebec premier previously announced the creation of Project Hammer -- a joint investigation involving the Surete du Quebec police, prosecutors and RCMP who specialize in investigating organized crimes, which will look into the corruption and fraud allegations regarding the construction industry.

With a report from CTV Montreal's Annie de Melt and files from The Canadian Press