After Quebec Green candidate quits over leader's Russia comments, he takes her spot in byelection

Annabelle Boivette (Photo: Facebook)

Just under a month after launching her campaign, the Quebec Green Party candidate in the Marie-Victorin byelection has withdrawn, the party said.

She quit the race over pro-Russia comments made by the party leader, Alex Tyrrell, according to an announcement by the party.

"After a weekend of intense criticism on social media related to a position Mr. Tyrrell took on the war in Ukraine, Annabelle Bouvette, the party's previous candidate for Marie-Victorin, decided to withdraw her candidacy," said a party statement on Wednesday.

Now Tyrrell has decided to step in and run in Bouvette's place in the race, which promises to be a dramatic one in a competitive riding -- and he's planning to make Russia the central issue, said the statement.

On Thursday, he'll formally "announce that he will present himself personally in the riding of Marie-Victorin for the by-election," the party said. 

"The focal point of Mr. Tyrrell's campaign is to avert nuclear war between Russia and the United States."

As well as apparent conflict within his party, Tyrrell faced scathing criticism from prominent federal Greens, including the party's interim leader, who called his tweets "abhorrent" and said he's not affiliated with her federal party.

Bouvette is a young environmental advocate who attended McGill. In a short statement on her own Facebook page, she said she informed Tyrrell of her decision on Sunday, very shortly after he made the controversial statements on Friday and Saturday on Twitter.

She didn't, however, give a reason for dropping out, simply saying her environmental work isn't over.

"I will continue to be involved in the fight against the climate crisis," she said.

"I cannot repeat it enough: we must stop ignoring the climate crisis, because fixing the environment is fixing everything else. There is an urgent need to act. Let's save humanity and biodiversity, all together."

Bouvette hasn't yet responded to a request for further comment. Tyrrell will take reporters' questions on his plans at a press conference Thursday.