QUEBEC — Former Quebec cabinet minister Nadine Girault has died at the age of 63.

Premier François Legault confirmed her death on social media, paying tribute to a “passionate, determined and endearing woman.”

Girault announced in July that she was stepping away from her role as minister of immigration for health reasons and that she would not run in the October election.

In 2019, she was diagnosed with lung cancer and took time off to undergo treatment.

Girault was a businesswoman before entering politics in 2018 and winning election for the Coalition Avenir Québec in the riding of Bertrand, northeast of Montreal.

She was appointed minister of international relations and the Francophonie that year and was given the role of immigration minister in a 2020 cabinet shuffle.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2023.

The Canadian Press