MONTREAL -- Parti Québécois (PQ) leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will not be a candidate in Marie-Victorin, a riding in Longueuil, in the next by-election.
The leader confirmed the news in a Thursday letter to the riding executive.
Plamondon, who does not hold a seat in the National Assembly, said he wants instead to focus on “the real general election” next October.
“I am continuing with my commitment of being on the ground to 'rebuild the yes camp’,” he explained at a recent press briefing. Plamondon’s 2020 book “Rebâtir le camp du Oui” (Rebuild The Yes Camp) outlines the leaders vision to bring Quebec independence back to mainstream politics.
He also said he’s made a decision on where he will run when the time comes, but didn’t reveal his choice.
In his letter, he accused Quebec Premier François Legault of “playing politics with the date of the by-election,” which has still not been announced.
“We are therefore heading towards a partial (election) which will be held in several months, in 2022, that is to say a few months before the general elections, '' he said.
A VACANT SEAT
The seat in Marie-Victorin became vacant after Catherine Fournier was elected mayor of Longueuil on Nov. 7.
Fournier was elected as part of the PQ in the last two elections before leaving the party in 2019.
Plamondon vowed to present a candidate for the seat “in the coming days.”
Whoever he chooses, he says they’ll have “a local dimension … but also present on the national scene.”
-- This article was first published by The Canadian Press on Nov. 18, 2021, with the financial support of the Facebook and The Canadian Press News Scholarships.
