OTTAWA — New NDP Leader Avi Lewis says he won’t run in an upcoming Quebec byelection to fill a seat being left vacant by Alexandre Boulerice.

Boulerice says he is leaving Parliament to run provincially for the Québec solidaire after spending 15 years as an MP.

He says he feels he has completed his work federally and frames the move as a continuation of his progressive work rather than a political calculation.

But his departure is another blow to the NDP which now will have just five seats in the House of Commons and none in Quebec.

Lewis was elected less than a month ago to lead the party and says he encouraged Boulerice to stay on in Parliament.

Although it frees up a spot for Lewis to possibly seek a seat in the House of Commons in a byelection, he says he won’t run there because Quebecers should be represented by someone from Quebec, and that it is too soon for him to consider a run.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026.

—With files from Charlotte Glorieux in Montreal

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press