Longtime Liberal MNA François Ouimet does not want to leave provincial politics, but in a tearful press conference Wednesday he told how he was pushed out of the party after the premier promised him in May that he would be the Liberal candidate in Marquette.
Ouimet has held the West Island riding of Marquette since 1994. He’s been deputy speaker of the house for the last seven years.
Wednesday morning, the MNA could barely begin his press conference, tearing up from the beginning. When he spoke about the premier, his voice cracked with emotion.
“You know when you shake someone’s hand and the person looks at you in the eyes and the person tells me, ‘Do not worry, I will sign your candidacy form and I will not play games with you.’ And there’s a good handshake, you believe that,” he said, his voice trembling.
WATCH: François Ouimet says he does not want to leave provincial politics, but he is giving up. As Global’s Raquel Fletcher reports, the longtime West Island MNA is being pushed out to make way for new blood in the Quebec Liberal Party – but he says he is hurt by the decision.
Ouimet said the premier gave him his word and that handshake back in May after he heard rumors that the party was looking to give his seat to another candidate.
But Tuesday night, on the eve of his nomination meeting, Ouimet received a call from a party organizer telling him that he was being kicked out of the party he has represented for the last 24 years.
“I told the person, ‘I’m going to deal with the premier on this. He gave me his word and I’m sure he’s going to respect his word,'” Ouimet explained.
READ MORE: Premier: Quebec is better off with Liberal government
He said he didn’t believe the news until he heard it from the lips of Premier Philippe Couillard himself Wednesday morning during a brief phone call.
The reason he said was simply “party renewal.”
Ouimet is 58 years old. The Liberal party has older candidates running. Couillard is 61.
“Yeah, you feel hurt,” Ouimet said. “I thought it was all about doing politics differently. I thought it was about that. You know, this is old backroom stuff from the 50’s and 60’s.”
Liberal ministers at the National Assembly Wednesday morning for a cabinet meeting said they didn’t know that Ouimet was being pushed out of the party, but several added that candidates are nominated at the discretion of the premier.
In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Couillard said it was not an easy decision to make.
“There are moments in the life of a party leader or premier that are extremely painful because you have to take these type of decisions for people,” he said, adding it wasn’t personal. “We are now facing a situation where we have many, many candidacies of high value and a limited number of ridings.”
“So, at each election these type of decisions, unfortunately must be taken. It’s not a judgement on the person, on the value of the person, it’s the way I have to fulfill my responsibilities as party leader.”
WATCH: Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard speaks to Global’s Jamie Orchard about the upcoming provincial election campaign
There are reports that former hockey player Enrico Ciccione will be named as the new Liberal candidate in Marquette. The riding has been a Liberal stronghold for years and Ouimet said he believes he could have won back his seat.
“I’ve received so many emails in such a short period of time, so many text messages. I feel there’s great support for me out there, but I didn’t have that support up on top,” he said.
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