Actor Pierre-Luc Brillant to run for Parti Quebecois in Rosemont

Actor and musician Pierre-Luc Brillant will be a candidate for the Parti Québécois (PQ) in Rosemont, Montreal, in the October 3 elections, The Canadian Press has learned.

He will face the outgoing deputy of Québec Solidaire, Vincent Marissal.

Rosemont was long a PQ stronghold, until Marissal unseated PQ leader Jean-François Lisée in the 2018 general election.

Born in 1978, Brillant began his career on the screen at a young age. He played in several films, including "Tirelire, Combine et compagnie", "C.R.A.Z.Y.", "La Disparition des lucioles", and "Pas d'chicane dans ma cabane", a film that has just been released.

He has also had numerous roles on the small screen, including "Plan B", "Nos Étés", "L'Échappée", "La Galère", and "District 31".

Brillant is married to actress Isabelle Blais.

Brillant would not be the first actor to sit for the PQ if elected. Pierre Curzi was the PQ member for Borduas from 2007 to 2011, before sitting as an independent. In addition, in 2014, actress and director Lorraine Pintal ran for the PQ in Verdun, but was not elected.

With the announcement of the candidate, the PQ ends a week of turbulence that also marks the end of parliamentary work at the National Assembly.

On Tuesday, CAQ Premier François Legault presented his candidate in Lévis, Bernard Drainville, a former PQ minister who swapped sides to join the Coalition Avenir Quebec, which reopened questions about the future of the PQ.

Some PQ caucus veterans are ending their political careers as well.

MNAs Sylvain Gaudreault in Jonquière, Véronique Hivon in Joliette and Lorraine Richard in Duplessis have indicated that they will not seek re-election.

Of the current team, only Pascal Bérubé in Matane-Matapédia, Joël Arseneau in Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Méganne Perry-Mélançon in Gaspé have announced that they will run for office on Oct. 3. Martin Ouellet, in René-Lévesque, is expected to announce his decision very soon.

In 2018, Marissal was elected with 35 per cent of the vote in Rosemont, a lead of 2,500 votes over Jean-François Lisée, who received 28 per cent of the vote.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 11, 2022.