Pierre Karl Peladeau stepping down as PQ leader for family reasons

Fighting back tears, Parti Quebecois Leader Pierre Karl Peladeau announced his immediate departure from politics on Monday, less than a year after he was hailed by many as the saviour of the sovereigntist movement.

Peladeau, 54, said it was a stark choice between his family and politics.

"I am forced to make a choice, an agonizing choice, between my family and my political project, our political project, which is shared by so many people," he told a news conference in Montreal.

"I have chosen my family.

"So I’m announcing, with regret, that I am leaving immediately as leader of the Parti Quebecois, leader of the official Opposition and as the member of the legislature for Saint−Jerome.

"I am making this decision for the well−being of my children. I must remain an example to them."

Peladeau recently split from Julie Snyder, his longtime partner, just months after their wedding last August.

They have two children aged about 8 and 10.

Peladeau was elected last May with 57.6 per cent of the vote in the race to succeed Pauline Marois.

His first words when he was announced as the new leader was that he would settle for nothing less than an independent Quebec.

Much of the leadership campaign and the past year has focused on Peladeau’s steadfast refusal to sell his shares in Quebecor Inc. (TSX:QBR.B), the conglomerate in which he remains the controlling shareholder.

The focus will now turn to his replacement at the helm of the party, with former cabinet ministers Alexandre Cloutier and Martine Ouellet likely to be among the candidates.

They finished second and third respectively in last year’s race.

The next provincial election is set for September 2018.