Antoine Tardif renounces his bid for the leadership of the PLQ

Photo: iStock Photomontage Le Devoir

Le Devoir

Published at 7:48 a.m. Updated at 8:34 a.m.

• Québec

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Antoine Tardif will not be in the race for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ). The mayor of Victoriaville, who says he has been “strongly solicited,” made the announcement on Facebook on Friday, arguing that “the timing is not right” for him.

“I admit to having thought about it, because I love my Quebec, and I am convinced that we can do better. I also believe that a PLQ capable of bringing together our regions, our national capital and our metropolis would regain its relevance on the political scene,” he wrote.

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“But it is clear that the timing is not right for me. I am the mayor of Victoriaville, proud to be so, and I am driven by all these innovative projects in the municipal world that I am carrying out with my teams at city hall, as well as within the Fédération québécoise des municipalités.”

M. Tardif nevertheless specifies that he does not rule out, one day, “taking [his] political commitment to another level of government.”

Mr. Tardif’s decision comes as rumours of federal Liberal minister Pablo Rodriguez’s candidacy are growing.

For now, only former Montreal mayor and former federal minister Denis Coderre and former CEO of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec Charles Milliard have confirmed that they are running for the PLQ leadership.

More details to follow.