Melanie Joly steps down as party leader

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.

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.”

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.

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.