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Quebec provincial police say a woman found dead on Saturday in Matane is Nancy Charest, a former Liberal member of the national assembly.

The body of the 54-year-old former politician, who served in the National Assembly between 2003 and 2007, was found Saturday by a passerby along a private road off Route 195 in Matane, about 400 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

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Provincial police are not saying if there were any signs of trauma on the body, and have not released a possible cause of death.

Police say their investigation leads them to believe she was not the victim of foul play.

A coroner will perform an autopsy to confirm the exact cause of death.

Charest (no relation to former premier Jean Charest) was defeated in the 2007 provincial election by Parti Québécois candidate Pascal Bérubé. She would go on to become a candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada in the riding of Haute-Gaspésie-La Mitis-Matane-Matapédia in the 2008 and 2011 federal elections. She was defeated both times.

Former interim Liberal leader and Ontario Premier Bob Rae took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon after hearing of Charest’s death, writing: “Very sorry to learn of Nancy Charest’s passing, former MNA and Liberal federal candidate, friend to so many of us.”



With files from The Montreal Gazette