Montreal city councillor Frantz Benjamin is making the leap to provincial politics.
Benjamin, who is the first Black man to be appointed Speaker of Montreal’s city council, will run for the Liberals in the Montreal riding of Viau.
A Haitian immigrant, Benjamin came to Canada at the age of 13.
As an adult, he got involved in the community, starting off as a school commissioner before running for municipal politics and becoming a councillor in Saint-Michel in 2009.
He's lobbied for better representation of visible minorities at the municipal level.
On Wednesday, sources confirmed to CTV News he'll announce he'll be running for the Liberals in the Oct. 1 provincial election in the riding of Viau, a very ethnically diverse Liberal stronghold that includes Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension.
The riding is currently held by Immigration Minister David Heurtel, who announced in May that he wouldn't be seeking re-election, explaining in a statement that it was because an illness in his family and his personal obligations were incompatible with the demands of another mandate.
Benjamin will make his announcement Thursday morning at 10:30.
The election is expected to be called on Aug. 29.
