NDP MP Boulerice to resign seat for Quebec Solidaire bid

Alexandre Boulerice, the New Democratic Party's only member of Parliament from Quebec, announced Monday that he will resign his federal seat to seek the nomination of Québec solidaire in the Montreal provincial riding of Gouin for the October provincial election. The move leaves the NDP with five seats in the House of Commons, none east of Manitoba.

Boulerice, who has represented the federal riding of Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie since 2011, plans to sit as an independent until the provincial vote. His departure triggers a byelection in Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, which the governing Liberals under Prime Minister Mark Carney can schedule at their discretion, potentially delaying it until the fall.

In a statement on social media, Boulerice described the decision after 15 years with the NDP as "a homecoming but also a new challenge and a continuity in my political implication as progressive, ecologist and humanist." He added that he is "leaving Ottawa with my mind at ease, knowing that new NDP Leader Avi Lewis will be able to show the real conservative face of the Carney government."

The announcement follows efforts by Lewis, elected NDP leader last month, to retain Boulerice. Lewis...