Former Liberal finance minister Carlos Leitao confirms he will not run in Quebec election

QLP's Carlos Leitao won't run Another Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) heavyweight announced he won't be candidate in the upcoming Quebec election.

Another Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) heavyweight has announced that he will not be a candidate in the upcoming Quebec election in October.

Former Finance Minister Carlos Leitao confirmed in an interview with Radio-Canada that he will not run in the West Island riding of Robert-Baldwin.

"Active politics is over. I had committed with my wife to do only two mandates," he said.

Twice elected by strong majorities, Leitao served as finance minister throughout the mandate of Philippe Couillard's government from 2014 to 2018. In addition, he was president of the Treasury Board from 2016 to 2018.

His name is added to the already long list of Liberal stars who will no longer be present in the National Assembly after the next election.

Pierre Arcand (Mont-Royal), Christine St-Pierre (Acadie), Nicole Ménard (Laporte), Hélène David (Marguerite-Bourgeoys), Francine Charbonneau (Mille-Îles), Jean Rousselle (Vimont), David Birnbaum (D'Arcy-McGee) Gaétan Barrette (La Pinière ), Monique Sauvé (Favre), Lise Thériault (Anjou-Louis-Riel) and Paule Robitaille (Bourassa-Sauvé) have all announced their departure from Quebec politics.

At its lowest point in the polls since 2018, massively abandoned by the French-speaking electorate, the PLQ is now only present in the Montreal and Outaouais regions. According to the electoral projection site Qc125, which is based on various polls, some Liberal-held ridings are now under threat, especially from the governing Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) or, in some cases, from Québec Solidaire (QS).

For the moment, the Liberal MNAs who have decided to run for another term are: Monsef Derraji (Nelligan), Frantz Benjamin (Viau), Enrico Ciccone (Marquette) André Fortin (Pontiac), Gregory Kelley (Jacques-Cartier) , Marwah Rizqy (St-Laurent), Jennifer Maccarone (Westmount-St-Louis ), Isabelle Melançon (Verdun) , Saul Polo (Laval-des Rapides), Filomena Rotiroti (Jeanne-Mance-Viger), Maryse Gaudreault, (Hull) and Marc Tanguay (Lafontaine).

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 4, 2022.