Dominique Anglade named Quebec Liberal leader after rival drops out

FThe Canadian Press

ormer provincial cabinet minister Dominique Anglade was acclaimed leader of the Quebec Liberal party on Monday after her only rival dropped out of the race.

Anglade, who represents a Montreal riding, becomes the first woman as well as the first visible minority candidate to lead the party.

The 46-year-old will officially succeed former premier Philippe Couillard, who resigned following the 2018 provincial election.

The Liberals are Quebec’s official Opposition party, with 28 of the legislature’s 125 seats.

The Liberal leadership race came to an abrupt end on Monday morning when Alexandre Cusson, the former mayor of Drummondville, Que., announced that the race was draining his finances.

He said on Facebook that he resigned as mayor to run for the Liberal leadership, but the race has been suspended indefinitely since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and he has been left without a source of income.

“Having left my duties and by renouncing all remuneration to participate in this race, not being independently wealthy and like the great majority of Quebecers having to earn my living, this delay is not possible,’’ Cusson said.

“Faced with this dilemma, I had to make a heartbreaking choice. I therefore announce that I will no longer be in the running for the leadership ... when the party relaunches the race.’’

Anglade drew support from many current and former Liberals as well as from the province’s business community, but she has faced criticism from within the party for being too Montreal-centric.

Cusson, with his connections outside the big cities, was considered the candidate better able to attract voters outside the Liberals’ Montreal power base.