The embattled leader of the separatist Bloc Québécois is stepping down, after being dealt a resounding non-confidence vote by the federal party’s rank and file over the weekend.
Martine Ouellet announced Monday morning that she’ll be resigning effective June 11 after receiving the support of only 32 per cent of the party’s faithful.
The Bloc, a party set up to promote Quebec’s separation from Canada on the federal level, has been in shambles since late February when seven of its 10 MPs quit citing Ouellet’s leadership style.
Of the remaining three MPs only two supported Ouellet, 49, who has been leader since March 2017.
Ouellet defended her decision to be a vocal promoter of Quebec independence since becoming leader.
“I did not come to the Bloc for a title but to defend a cause: that of independence and the republic of Quebec,” she told the news conference.
“Rest assured, I will continue. Nothing is finished for me. But I must admit that, at the end of the day, my main conclusion is that the main obstacle to Quebec becoming a republic comes from within the sovereigntist movement.
“That is not normal. The movement is ill.”
The party was founded in 1991 as a parliamentary movement composed of Quebec MPs who left the Conservative and Liberal parties after the failure of the Meech Lake Accord that sought to amend the Constitution by strengthening provincial powers and declaring Québec a “distinct society.”
The Bloc has been in steady decline since its heydays in mid-1990s when it held 54 seats in the House of Commons and became Canada’s Official Opposition Party.
With files from The Canadian Press and CBC News
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