The provincial Liberal party has named former NHL hockey player Enrico Ciccone as its candidate for the riding of Marquette, which covers Dorval, Dorval Island, and Lachine.

Ciccone's confirmation came two days after the MNA who represented the riding since 1994, Francois Ouimet, learned that despite what he had been told earlier in the year, he would not be allowed to run again for the party.

Members of the local riding association are not happy with the decision and according to the Canadian Press the majority of them have decided to resign on Aug. 23, the day the election campaign begins.

On Wednesday Ouimet was supposed to announce he had been confirmed as the candidate. Instead he held a news conference where he said that he had been betrayed by Premier Philippe Couillard.

"He looked me in the eyes, shook my hand, and promised," said Ouimet. "I took his word."

With Ouimet no longer running, that means only one politician in Quebec will be running this year who was elected in 1998: CAQ leader Francois Legault.

Couillard said that it was a difficult decision, but was necessary because of the high quality of candidates coming forward for the Liberal party.

"I saw Francois's sorrow. I share it. It will be a painful scar for me too. I hate doing these things. But I have to look forward for the greater benefit and the greater benefit for the future of our team, and again I'm so enthusiastic like Enrico, coming forward to join politics, to get involved,' said Couillard.

Ciccone played in NHL

Flanked by Premier Couillard and West Island MNA and finance minister Carlos Leitao, Ciccone said he was happy to be the Liberal candidate, even as he faced questions about the "pitiless" nature of politics.

"Everything I have done in life has always been difficult. Nothing has ever been given to me," said Ciccone. "I understand that being in politics is just the same [as being in the NHL], it's just that the rules are maybe a little different."

"I'm not surprised, I'm really not surprised in the way things happen. But at the same time I am used to it. I've had it happen to me."

Ciccone said that he was entering politics because he wanted to help people, specifically pointing to previous work he has done with youth, hockey, and social causes that he believes resonate in the area.

"When people come to see you it's because they're having a tough time, they need something, and I will do my best. Not only will I do my best, I will do the best to make their lives easier," Ciccone said.

Given the abrupt way he is entering the riding, and Ouimet's department, Ciccone suspects he will have to work hard to gain people's trust, but he plans to do so "by being there, by listening, by being very on the floor with them, try to go through hardship with them."

Ciccone, 48, played for seven teams in the NHL during his 11-year career, including two stints with the Tampa Bay Lightning and three games with the Montreal Canadiens.

The former defenceman has worked as a hockey analyst and host on radio and television stations since his retirement in 2001.

On July 24 he announced he would be stepping down as a host on a Montreal radio station to "take up a very big challenge in the fall".

He said that he had been approached by several political parties, but that the Liberal party was the one most closely aligned to his own political views.

Ciccone grew up in the region but does not currently live in Lachine or Dorval.

Former MNA criticizes handling

Former MNA Roch Cholette criticized Couillard's decision to replace Ouimet.

Cholette was the MNA for Hull from 1998 until his resignation in 2008, and is currently a radio host in the Outaouais -- and the spouse of provincial justice minister Stephane Vallée, who will not be running again.

On air Thursday Cholette said the decision to replace Ouimet showed a "lack of respect" that was rooted in petty politics.

Cholette pointed out there are plenty of open ridings where Liberal MNAs have chosen not to run again, including in the West Island, but that the party made a deliberate choice to get rid of someone who had held a seat for years.

Saying he no longer recognized the party that he devoted a decade of his life to, he told voters it "was time to turn the page" on the Liberal party.

Couillard is "capable of lying to his MNA's face. Imagine what he is capable of doing to voters," said Cholette.