The parliamentary leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ), Martin Ouellet, will not be a candidate in the next general election. More than half of the PQ caucus will not be on the starting line at the end of the summer.
The duty was able to confirm Tuesday morning the upcoming departure of the deputy for the riding of René Lévesque, first reported by TVA Nouvelles. The elected PQ will make his official announcement at 10 a.m. on the North Shore. He is drawing a line under a potential third term.
Last week, Mr. Ouellet, who has held the position of parliamentary leader of his political party since 2018, left doubts hanging over journalists. “I will make my response known next week on the side of my constituency,” he said during a press briefing last Tuesday.
The member for René-Lévesque is the fourth elected member of the Parti Québécois to give up on political life. Sylvain Gaudreault, Véronique Hivon and Lorraine Richard have already announced their departure. Of the seven elected members of the PQ caucus, only the parliamentary leader Joël Arseneau and the deputies Pascal Bérubé and Méganne Perry Mélançon will seek the votes in October.
Further details will follow.
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