Manon Massé has announced she is stepping down as Québec solidaire (QS) parliamentary leader.
In a Facebook live broadcast on Sunday, Massé said she is passing the torch to co-leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois as of September when the fall parliamentary session begins.
The 57-year-old woman said she wants to take a step aside because she no longer wants to be a candidate in the 2022 Quebec provincial election.
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“Right now, I’m in a role that wears me out,” Massé said. She said the role no longer interests her and she is no longer interested in participating in the leaders’ debate.
It’s expected that Nadeau-Dubois will take over as parliamentary leader after the summer break. He will, however, have to get re-elected by party members in November.
Massé said Nadeau-Dubois has the “passion, vision, sensitivity and energy” needed to take QS forward. She said she told Nadeau-Dubois, who is 30, that it’s time that his generation takes the lead.
“Our generation is facing the existential crisis of our lifetime — the environment. It’s an issue that can no longer wait,” Nadeau-Dubois added.
Massé will remain co-spokesperson for the party and will run again for the MNA position in her riding of Sainte-Marie—Saint-Jacques in 2022.
–with files from Alessia Maratta, Global News