Denis Coderre clings to politics, enters Quebec Liberal Party leadership race

Denis Coderre wants to be the next premier of Quebec.

On Friday morning, the former mayor of Montreal and federal minister officially announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party.

Coderre, who represented a Montreal riding when he was an MP, intends to run in the Quebec City-area riding of Bellechasse in the 2026 provincial election. Stéphanie Lachance, who's with Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) is the riding's current MNA.

He said he chose Bellechasse for its «federalist» character, its large French-speaking population and its reputation in the agricultural and industrial sectors. In recent decades, the riding has elected Liberal candidates on several occasions but also chose other parties including the Parti Québécois (PQ) and the Action Démocratique du Québec, which merged with the CAQ in 2012.

Coderre was the mayor of Montreal from 2013 to 2017, when he was defeated by Valérie Plante. Coderre stepped away from his party, which at the time bore his name, before running for mayor with the party again during the 2021 municipal elections.

Plante defeated Coderre a second time, by a wider margin, prompting him to announce that he was leaving politics for good.

Setting the tone

After he made his announcement in front of the National Assembly, he invited «all the disappointed Liberals» to come back and join him.

«I think we need experienced men and women,» he said. «I've always loved this party. I have deep roots in it, no matter what anyone says. I think it's important for us to come together again.»

He tried to set an early tone for his eventual campaign by addressing the issues of systemic racism, Indigenous peoples' rights, and immigration.

He also said he was in favour of the controversial third