Liberals Race to get new Leader

With the electoral defeat of both the Liberal Party of Quebec and its leader Jean Charest, the party is wasting no time to find a replacement in what could be a very unstable minority government.

On Wednesday, the caucus elected former Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier as interim leader.

The PLQ will use old-style politics to choose their next leader. Rather than use a one-member-one vote system, which is the standard of other parties, the PLQ have opted to have 3,000 deleagates from 125 ridings vote.

Prominant Liberals are looking at the top job and former Health and Social Services Minister Philipe Couillard has thrown his name into the hat. Couillard is currently percieved as a potential front-runner.

A general meeting will be held in October to decide when the leadership race will officially launch  and each riding association will choose 24 delegates to send to the convention.

The party's constitution prioritizes gender equality and requires 8 members of each youth wing.

We have yet to see who will take the helm, how it will effect PLQ policy and how this person will fair against the PQ and the CAQ. Who said minority governments with a changing opposition were boring?

So, what impact will this new leader have on Liberal fortunes in Quebec? If they choose the wrong leader, could this have a net benefit for Francois Legault and his Coalition Avenir du Quebec? Let us know: Facebook, Twitter, Google +.