Frantz Benjamin, who has been a Montreal city councillor for nine years, says he’s ready to move onto a bigger stage.
He announced Thursday he plans to run for the Quebec Liberals in the Montreal-area riding of Viau.
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Benjamin has represented Saint-Michel since 2009 and says he was approached by residents in his Saint-Michel riding to make the leap into provincial politics.
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The 50-year-old will be vying for the seat currently held by the outgoing immigration minister, David Heurtel.
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Benjamin said he thinks his experience as a councillor and, prior to that, as a school board commissioner, has prepared him well to run for higher office.
He says he wants to focus on education, a file he insists he wasn’t able to push forward at the local level.
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About 60,000 people live in the Viau riding and the district is ethnically diverse.
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If elected, the Haitian-born Montrealer will be one of the few Liberal MNAs who is a visible minority.
Nevertheless, the councillor insists pushing for more equal representation isn’t a priority.
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Benjamin says he plans to remain a city councillor during the upcoming provincial election campaign, as permitted by law.
If elected on Oct. 1 to the National Assembly, he will then have to resign his council seat.
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