Newly-elected NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who has no seat in Parliament, has chosen leadership rival Guy Caron to lead the federal New Democrats in the House of Commons.

Flanked by the majority of the NDP caucus at a press conference Wednesday, Singh said the decision to name his parliamentary leader was an “easy” one because of Caron’s qualifications and also because he wanted to send a signal to Quebec.

“I’ve always talked about the importance of Quebec,” he said. “Quebec’s incredibly important not only to my party, not only to all New Democrats but also to the progressive moment.”

Singh also expressed confidence the NDP will secure a larger foothold in the province after the next federal election.

“It’s a province – a nation – that’s one of the most progressive in our federalist context,” he said. “It’s a place where we have affordable tuition fees, we have affordable daycare … they’ve shown and lead the way on a number of progressive fronts.

“It’s a place where we can connect to people with our values and I’m confident we’ll not only be able to maintain seats there, we’ll be able to grow in Quebec.”

Neither outgoing leader Tom Mulcair nor Ontario member of Parliament Charlie Angus, who finished a distant second to Singh in the leadership race, were in attendance at Wednesday’s caucus meeting and press conference. Mulcair is travelling and Angus says he is spending time in his northern Ontario riding.

Asked about the role other leadership candidates – Angus, Niki Ashton and Peter Julian – would assume in the Commons moving forward, Singh said they will be “reintegrated” into critic portfolios and that those announcements will come “soon.”

British Columbia MP Murray Rankin will remain the NDP’s House leader.

Wednesday marked Singh’s first time chairing the federal party’s caucus meeting. Asked about the main message he communicated to MPs during caucus, Singh told reporters he emphasized the importance of “inspiring people” with the party’s vision “for how to build a better Canada.”

“And we are going to run a campaign to win and form government in 2019,” he added.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he pitched a proposal for an excise tax on sales of legal marijuana to premiers, suggesting the federal and provincial governments split the revenues 50-50. Singh said he has not yet taken a position on Trudeau’s proposal and will deliberate with the NDP caucus on the matter – but he said several times the government should be prioritizing decriminalization.

With files from The Canadian Press