Quebec's premier announces his resignation ahead of provincial election this year

TORONTO — The leader of Canada's French-speaking province of Quebec announced Wednesday he is stepping down because he is unpopular.

The Coalition Avenir Québec party will have a short time to choose a new leader to replace Premier François Legault ahead of the provincial election scheduled for this fall.

Legault founded the party and has been Quebec's premier since 2018.

''I'm seeing now that many Quebecers are hoping and wanting a change and a change in premier," Legault said.

"For the good of my party, and especially for the good of Quebec, I am announcing that I will be resigning my position as the premier of Quebec,''

Legault said he will stay on until a new party leader has been appointed.

''He is the least popular premier in the country right now,'' said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal.

The Coalition Avenir Québec has sought more autonomy and power for Quebec within Canada.

Quebec's separatist party, the Parti Québécois, might win the provincial election in the fall.

The province's Liberal party, staunch supporters of Canadian unity, are also in need of a new leader after its previous leader stepped down over allegations of vote-buying by party members.

Quebec's identity has been contentious since the 1760s when the British completed their takeover of what was then called New France. In the 1960s, the Parti Quebecois was formed under the leadership of a TV commentator-turned-politician named Rene Levesque, who would go on to rule the province for nine years.

Quebec, which is about 80% French-speaking, has significant autonomy already. The province of 9.1 million sets its own income tax, has its own immigration policy favoring French speakers, and has legislation prioritizing French over English. Voters have twice rejected sovereignty, though only by a razor-thin margin in a 1995 referendum.