QUEBEC CITY — Jean Charest can recall some grand accomplishments and dark days from his nine years as premier. But his decision to step down as Liberal Leader following his party’s election loss was apparently clinched by the smaller, most human things.

The prospect of becoming a grandfather for the first time, for instance.

“As a father and someone who will soon be a grandfather — as if life was sending me a signal — I want to tell my close ones they have been a big source of inspiration,” Charest, 54, told a rapt press corps, two dozen cabinet ministers and several loyal aides — many in tears — on Wednesday.

“Without my wife, Michèle, I would never have been premier. (My family) accompanied me in everything I did with lots of love and patience,” he said, his own eyes welling up in the ornate main entrance hall of the National Assembly.

His family helped him decide to quit the leader’s job late Tuesday night, not long after he lost his own riding of Sherbrooke by nearly 3,000 votes and the Liberals were reduced to 50 seats in the 125-seat legislature, where they will become the official opposition.

Around the same time Charest found out about a fatal shooting during the victory speech of Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois, he was having a family meeting about his future.

“It was a unanimous decision,” Charest said. “I will quit my functions as leader of the Quebec Liberal Party in a few days, as soon as the next government is in place.”

After offering his condolences to the shooting victims’ families, he said the “completely unjustified and inexplicable” gesture, on a day so crucial to democracy, “reminded us of the fragility of our lives.”

He did not take any questions from reporters after his nearly 13-minute post-election and resignation speech.

On Tuesday, “Quebecers expressed themselves and elected a Parti Québécois government while at the same time giving strong support to the Quebec Liberal Party. They wrote a page of history by electing a woman to the post of premier for the first time.”

Charest said that after 28 years in public life, it was time for him and his family “to take a different step.” He did not say what that might be.

He thanked his constituents in Sherbrooke, his ministers, his aides and election helpers. He thanked Quebec public servants, describing them as some of the best in the world.

He listed a number of achievements and challenges of his time in office. “We are proud of what we achieved on the economy, with one of the best performances in the world during the economic and financial crisis. Quebecers have never been so employed as under our government.”

International trade deals and the launch of the Plan Nord, a 25-year resource development plan for Quebec’s vast north, were cited with pride. Charest said the plan makes Quebec a leader in sustainable development as it includes “the most important conservation project in history.” The PQ government should continue the Plan Nord to benefit future generations, he added.

Charest said he feels good that his government is leaving public finances in order while also contributing to the reduction of the public debt. He said the government’s achievements for Quebec families “have helped women make choices about working and this has reduced poverty.”

In health care, “we made important progress and in education we succeeded in bringing down the high school dropout rate.

“I am proud of what our government did to advance the cause of women, by giving Quebec its first (cabinet) with gender parity and ensuring the representation of women on the boards of crown corporations.”

“I want to say to all Quebecers, from the bottom of my heart, you are marvellous,” Charest said. “The biggest things and the biggest dreams are yours if you want them. We will continue to defy all tendencies and make the most beautiful things take shape together, because we Quebecers are a people of dreamers and a people of builders.

“I’m going home now and I thank you for this privilege, to have allowed me to be premier.”

mharrold@montrealgazette.com