PARTI QUÉBÉCOIS ELECTS MNA LISÉE AS NEW LEADER

Jean- François Lisée has been elected leader of the sovereigntist Parti Québécois. Lisée, pictured, won on the second round of voting and beat out fellow members of the Quebec national assembly Alexandre Cloutier and Martine Ouellet and the unelected Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. Lisée, 58, has been a member of the Quebec legislature since 2012. Previously, he was an adviser to former PQ premiers Jacques Parizeau and Lucien Bouchard. About 75 per cent of the more than 70,000 members eligible to vote ended up casting a ballot. Lisée has promised to not hold a sovereignty referendum in his first mandate if he is elected premier in the 2018 election. His campaign focused on immigration and identity issues and raised the ire of opponents and younger voters who saw him playing on fears and divisions in society.