MONTREAL -- The leadership race for a second provincial party is will soon be underway as Jonquiere MNA Sylvain Gaudreault will announce his candidacy to lead the Parti Quebecois on Monday.

Gaudreault has previously expressed interest in the job and gauged support for a possible run during the PQ’s November convention in Trois-Rivieres.

He is likely to face off against Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon, who previously ran for leadership in 2016. Historian Frederic Bastien is also rumoured to be pondering a run.

Gaudreault was first elected to the National Assembly in 2007 and served as Transport Minister and Municipal Affairs Minister under former premier Pauline Marois between 2012 and 2014.

As a member of the opposition he served as the PQ’s environment and health critic.

In the 2018 election Gaudreault was the only PQ MNA to keep his seat in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region.