Rivière-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles borough mayor Chantal Rouleau will try her hand at provincial politics this fall, as a candidate for the Coalition Avenir Québec.
Rouleau made that news official at a news conference Tuesday morning attended by CAQ leader François Legault.
She'll run in the Pointe-aux-Trembles riding, a long-time Parti Québécois stronghold. PQ MNA Nicole Léger, who's held the seat for all but two years since 1996, has already announced she won't be seeking another term.
Rouleau, 58, has been the borough mayor in RDP-Pointe-aux-Trembles since winning a by-election in 2010, under the Vision Montreal banner. She won re-election twice as part of Équipe Denis Coderre in 2013 and again last Nov. 5.
Meanwhile, the PQ's choice for the riding isn't settled. They had been planning to run Maxime Laporte, the head of the St. Jean Baptiste Society, in the riding, but there may be a challenger for the party's nomination. On Tuesday, Jean-Martin Aussant, who last week announced he was returning to the PQ after forming his own short-lived separatist party, signaled his intention to run as the PQ's candidate there.
The CAQ has never elected an MNA on the island of Montreal.