Jean Charest has announced that he will not be running in the Conservative leadership contest after weeks of speculation.
His announcement, however, has caused a great deal of confusion in the media, as the Quebec-based news publication La Presse first confirmed that Charest was running and then quickly delated it after more reports emerged minutes later contradicting this report.
“I will not be a candidate. It is final,” Charest said.
The announcement comes one week after a Maclean’s report that former prime minister Stephen Harper’s resignation from the Conservative Fund, was, in part, to give him the opportunity to actively fight a Charest leadership bid.