OTTAWA — NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice will announce on Monday that he will be leaving federal politics to run in the provincial Quebec election in October, a source familiar with the plan confirmed to National Post. His resignation will reduce the dwindling federal NDP caucus to five.
Boulerice, who is the last man standing from the so-called “Orange Wave” in Quebec in the 2011 federal election, will announce that he is seeking the nomination for the provincial democratic socialist party Québec Solidaire (QS) in the Montreal riding of Gouin, which is considered a safe seat for QS.
The news was first reported by Le Journal de Montréal on Friday.
Boulerice had been publicly musing about running provincially for months, and QS had seemingly rolled out the red carpet for him by amending its limits on male candidates to allow him to run.
But newly elected NDP Leader Avi Lewis had urged Boulerice to stay on board with the NDP.
“I looked him in the eye and said, ‘Please, stay with us,’” said Lewis last month.
Boulerice told the Montreal Gazette that the conversation, which took place on the sidelines of the NDP convention fresh off Lewis winning the party leadership in March, “touched me a lot.”
The MP said he was “going to think about it and come back to him.”
The source, who declined to be named because they were not allowed to publicly comment on the matter, said Boulerice wants to run provincially with QS to counter what he sees as the rise of right-of-centre political parties in the provincial legislature. The Parti Québécois is currently leading in provincial polls, with the Liberal Party of Quebec closely behind in second place and the Coalition Avenir Québec in third place. The Quebec Conservative Party is in fourth place, surpassing QS in the polls.
It remains to be seen if Boulerice’s arrival will breathe new life in the provincial party. Still, his nomination for Gouin is not a done deal. The nomination process for the riding was originally set to open in March but was pushed to next week. Although Boulerice is so far the only candidate who has expressed wanting to run for QS, others might be tempted to join.
As for the NDP, Boulerice’s imminent departure will be another major blow to the party.
Nunavut New Democrat Lori Idlout crossed the floor to the Liberals just last month.
Idlout told The Canadian Press that she was initially intending to stay with the NDP given the caucus’s commitment to rebuilding the party after the last election, but she said that commitment was fading after Boulerice signalled his intention to run provincially.