Former Qubec Solidaire MNA milise Lessard-Therrien resigns as party co-spokesperson

Former Qubec Solidaire MNAmilise Lessard-Therrien is stepping down from her role as party co-spokesperson just months after being elected by members.

She posted Monday a lengthystatement on Facebook, sayingthat she fell into "survival mode" within Qubec Solidaire(QS)andstruggled to "breathe new life" into the party as the female co-spokesperson.

Lessard-Therrienserved as MNA forRouyn-NorandaTmiscaminguefrom 2018 to 2022.

In November 2023,shebecame the Qubec Solidaire party co-spokesperson, replacing Manon Mass.Sherbrooke MNA Christine Labrie and Mercier MNA Ruba Ghazal, who also serves as the party's education critic, were in the running.

Lessard-Therrienaddedthat at timesshe felt "very alone" and conflicting visions withinthe party caused her enthusiasm to wither.

"I quickly realized that the train was already well underway," she wrote, noting that she went on sick leave at the end of March. "Four months were enough to exhaust me.Completely."

The QS team, she wrote, was "tightly woven" around Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.

Calling the departure a "great loss" for the party, QS president RoxaneMilot said in a statement published Monday thatLessard-Therrien"left her mark on Quebecers with her passion and determination."

"She helped Qubec Solidaire reach new people throughout the territory and accelerate our regional shift," the statement reads.

Milot wrote that she and QS management "worked toreorganize and increase" resources to supportLessard-Therrien in her role, adding thatLessard-Therrien became co-spokesperson during a "transition period" for the party.

"We're looking forward to her return to complete the transition," Milot wrote.

Information about howthe party will elect a new female spokesperson will be announced later out of respect for Lessard-Therrien, Milot wrote.