Quebec Liberals won’t name new leader until spring 2025

The Quebec Liberal Party says it will not select its new leader until the spring of 2025.

Nicholas Plourde, who chairs the party’s executive council, says an earlier vote would be premature and that the longer timeline will encourage more candidates to enter the race.

Speaking to some 400 Liberals at a policy convention today in Drummondville, Que., Plourde said the election should not morph into a coronation.

The new leader is to replace Dominique Anglade, who announced she was stepping down five weeks after the provincial election last year that returned François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec to the legislature with an even stronger majority.

Interim leader Marc Tanguay, who has ruled out running, says several people are interested, though only provincial lawmaker Frédéric Beauchemin has declared himself so far.

Tanguay decided to remove Beauchemin from the Liberal caucus earlier this month pending an inquiry into allegations of psychological harassment.