Melanie Joly, the upstart runner-up in Montreal's most recent mayoral race, wants to run for the Liberals in the next federal election.
"I'm convinced that it's the best way to bring Montreal back onto Ottawa's agenda and it's also the best way to beat the Harper government," she told CTV Montreal Wednesday.
Joly, who also helped organize Justin Trudeau's campaign for Liberal party leadership in 2013, will seek the nomination for the Montreal riding of Ahuntsic-Cartierville.
She said that she picked Ahuntsic-Carterville, because her mother and brother live in the riding.
She will not go unopposed for the Liberal nomination, however, as Grace Batchoun is also anxious to run for the Liberals.
"She's welcome to run but I just thought wow, it's just too late. Where were you all that time? We've been working for months," said Batchoun.
Joly said that the shift was not easy after she said she was devoted to competing at the municipal level.
"It was a very hard decision to take. I had to make sure that my team was well set at the municipal level. I had to make sure that all the electoral debts we used to have were refunded, that's why I stayed as president of Vrai Changement pour Montreal," she said.
She said she wants to make Montreal a priority at the federal level, fight climate change and social inequality.
Joly burst onto the municipal political scene with a solid showing while running for mayor.
The lawyer and former communications firm executive, Joly finished a surprise second behind Mayor Denis Coderre, a former Liberal MP and cabinet minister.
She left the municipal party she helped found last year for the private sector, but always maintained she was interested in returning to politics.
The rumours surrounding Joly led five other candidates also seeking the nomination to release a statement last week urging the Liberals not to consider her as the preferred candidate and to "respect the democratic process."
Trudeau maintains his party wants open nomination races across the country, but Liberals have been accused several times of meddling in the process to help secure victories for preferred candidates.
The Liberal leader said Tuesday in Ottawa that Joly is a "woman of ideas, of convictions. I've known her for a long time and I have enormous respect for her."
Trudeau added that "it will be the citizens of Ahuntsic" who will choose the riding's candidate.
Joly would be a high-profile candidate for the party in Quebec, where the party is trying to regain seats.
If she wins the nomination, Joly will be pitted against star New Democrat candidate Maria Mourani.
The criminologist and former Bloc MP was acclaimed as the NPD candidate in January, but still sits as an Independent and isn't part of the NDP caucus.
-With a file from The Canadian Press
