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The former minister of social services Lionel Carmant is returning to the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) party, he announced alongside outgoing Premier François Legault Wednesday morning.
“When I left, François was there for me,” Carmant told reporters at the National Assembly. “It’s important to me to be with him [during] this last week.”
Legault announced his resignation in January following months of turbulence, falling poll results and the exit of key ministers, including Carmant. The premier will lead his last cabinet meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Only a few days ago, Carmant announced on social media that he would return to the CAQ if Christine Fréchette is elected its next leader on April 12. His change of heart was first reported by La Presse.
Speaking on Wednesday, Legault called Carmant one of the “greatest neuro pediatricians in the world” who had done “beautiful things” as social services minister.
“I’m very happy that my friend Lionel is returning home,” he said.
Carmant helped found the CAQ in 2011. He entered Quebec’s National Assembly in 2018 under the party’s banner and was re-elected in 2022. However, last October, he quit Legault’s caucus and began sitting as an Independent.
He was upset with the government’s decision to pass a special law forcing new salary conditions on doctors. He announced his departure a day after his daughter, a specialist in maternal-fetal medicine, published an open letter criticizing the government’s approach to the negotiations and the health-care system as a whole.
Fréchette is currently running against MNA Bernard Drainville in the CAQ’s leadership race.
Carmant has maintained his decision not to run in the next provincial election.
