Recruited by François Legault, Céline Haytayan is leaving politics
Coalition Avenir Québec MNA for Laval-des-Rapides Céline Haytayan has announced she won’t be seeking a second term in office.
Haytayan, who defeated former Quebec Liberal Party MNA for Laval-des-Rapides Saul Polo in the 2022 election, had initially been introduced to voters as a star candidate with a background in economics, although she was never appointed to the CAQ cabinet.
Instead, Haytayan served as parliamentary assistant to the Minister of the Economy, focusing on artificial intelligence, science and innovation, among other areas.
Supported Fréchette
She also supported Christine Fréchette in the CAQ’s recent leadership race to succeed François Legault as party leader and provincial Premier.
Haytayan stated in a recent interview with a Montreal daily that Fréchette deserves credit for restoring the CAQ’s credibility and bringing the party back as a contender in the upcoming electoral race. She said her decision to leave politics was for personal reasons.
“In 2022, when I presented myself to you, my commitment was fueled by unwavering energy and deep conviction,” she wrote in a recent message to her riding’s constituents. “To seek a mandate and serve the public, I firmly believe that one must feel this impulse wholeheartedly.”
She said she chose not to run again “out of honesty with myself, but also out of respect for the CAQ.”
May return to politics
Haytayan worked for 14 years at the Montréal International economic development agency. She was also responsible for international corporate affairs at software developer Ubisoft before joining the CAQ prior to the last provincial election.
She said she is not ruling out a possible return to politics in the future. “I have no regrets. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in politics,” she said.
It’s worth noting that in recent months, around thirty CAQ MNAs, including several ministers, have left the party or announced that they will not be running in the October provincial election.
Backed nurse practitioners
In January 2023 at the time of the opening of the province’s first university-level clinical and teaching institution for specialized nurse practitioners in Laval, Haytayan shared her feelings on the importance of the creation of this groundbreaking institution.
“I share the pride and joy of everyone who worked so intensely on this project over the past few months,” said Haytayan. “This approach for a clinic-school being brought forward moves me a lot. “For the people of Laval, it is very good news,” she added.
“We will thus be able to reduce overcrowding at Cité de la Santé hospital, while contributing to the training of future nurses. I would like to salute the commitment of all the partners who united their efforts around this project.”
