Veteran Quebec Liberal cabinet minister Jean-Marc Fournier won't run in fall election
Announcement from minister for Canadian relations, government house leader comes as his party slumps in polls
Jean-Marc Fournier, a senior cabinet minister and government house leader, has decided not to seek re-election in October.
Fournier, 58, made the announcement at a news conference this afternoon. He said the time had come to "pass the torch" to new faces within the party.
Près de trente ans après ma première élection, j’ai annoncé aujourd’hui ma décision de passer le relais. Forts de nouveaux visages, nous continuerons d’avancer vers un nouveau Québec plus vert, plus prospère et plus égalitaire. <a href="https://t.co/t5u3tk2bWI">https://t.co/t5u3tk2bWI</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/polqc?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#polqc</a>
—@JeanMFournier_He told reporters he will help the Liberals during the campaign before leaving provincial politics.
The MNA for Saint-Laurent has served a number of cabinet positions since first being elected to the National Assembly in 1994.
He is currently the minister responsible for Canadian Relations and the Canadian Francophonie.
His announcement comes a week after Stéphanie Vallée, the province's justice minister, also said she wouldn't run again on Oct. 1.
He is the sixth member of the Liberal caucus to confirm he won't be running again. At least seven others are also considering quitting.
Opinion polls show the Liberals trailing the Coalition Avenir Québec in the polls.
The Liberals currently hold 69 of the 125 seats in the legislature.