The Quebec Liberal Party has appointed Pierre Arcand as interim leader.
“Last Monday, our team took a tough hit. We must admit, there was a wave of change in Quebec. Now, we must stand back up and regain the confidence of our voters,” the new leader said.
In his speech, Arcand said his first priority was to make sure his team is united.
At the national assembly, Arcand said his role and his team’s is to hold the new party in power — the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) — accountable: “You promised a lot, now you have to deliver the goods,” Arcand said.
Within the party, he says his work is to “rebuild.”
“We will work with our militants to identify the cause of our loss,” Arcand said. “We will rebuild and we will be a strong party in all Quebec regions.”
WATCH: The Quebec Liberal Party has a new interim leader after Philippe Couillard stepped down. As Global’s Raquel Fletcher reports, the party has also kicked out MNA Guy Ouellette from caucus – even after Couillard said that wouldn’t happen.
Francois Legault’s CAQ won many ridings considered Liberal strongholds, taking seats away from longtime MNAs such as Pierre Moreau in Châteauguay.
Arcand won in the riding of Mont-Royal–Outremont. He was first elected MNA in 2007 in the now-defunct riding of Mont-Royal.
The former journalist will act as interim leader while the party sets the groundwork for an eventual leadership race.
Multiple names have been floated around in the past few days, including former economy minister Dominique Anglade, former transport minister André Fortin and former health minister Gaétan Barrette.
Arcand said a decision on when the leadership race will take place will be made in a few months.