Former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre is officially out of the race to lead the Quebec Liberal Party.
In a lengthy post on his Facebook account Tuesday evening, Coderre wrote that after some reflection, he is not appealing the electoral committee’s decision last week to deny his candidacy.
Without providing a reason, the committee announced on Feb. 7 that it could not consider his nomination paper “permissible.” Coderre had five days to launch an appeal.
In his social media post, Coderre, also a former Liberal MP, suggested he was a victim of “leaks” in the middle of the leadership race, presumably referring to his financial troubles with tax authorities.
CTV News confirmed in December that the Canada Revenue Agency was seeking more than $260,000 from him in a mortgage recovery filing, in addition to the $133,000 sought by Revenu Québec.
“Our transparency in this matter is impeccable and it simply shows that the die was cast in advance. The word ‘disgusted’ by the situation is an understatement,” Coderre wrote on Tuesday.
He added that all of the money owed is “secure and guaranteed” and that he intends to sue Revenu Québec.
The party’s leadership race began last month, with former federal transport minister Pablo Rodriguez considered to be the front-runner. Other candidates include Charles Milliard, the former CEO of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, tax lawyer Marc Bélanger and Beauce farmer Mario Roy.
The party’s new leader is set to be announced June 14.
