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Melanie Joly steps down as party leader

Montreal mayoral candidate Melanie Joly. Global News

MONTREAL – Mayoral candidate Melanie Joly has announced she is stepping down as party leader of le Vrai Changement pour Montreal.

Lorraine Pagé, an Ahuntsic-Cartierville city councillor, will take over the leadership.

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Pagé won her seat by just one vote.

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In a statement, Joly, 35, wrote it was too difficult to serve as the party’s leader since she had not been elected and could not take part in council debates.

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“The party needs an elected leader to take part in the debate on the future of Montreal,” said Joly.

“Nothing suggests that I’ll get a chance to do that in the near future.”

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In the 2013 Montreal elections, Joly came in second with 26.5 per cent of the vote.

Her party placed fourth overall, having garnered just eight seats on Montreal’s municipal council.

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Joly will stay on as the party’s president on an administrative level.

She wished her successor good luck on Twitter and received an outpour of support from her followers.

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Despite rumours that Joly may continue her political career in the provincial or federal level, she insists she needs to take a step back.

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For now, Joly plans to focus her efforts on pursuing her business and philanthropic interests.

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