Media mogul Pierre Karl Peladeau announced Thursday he will seek the leadership of the Parti Quebecois, the standardbearer of a movement to split the province from the rest of Canada.

Peladeau, 53, made the announcement in a speech to students at the University of Montreal.

The majority shareholder of telecom giant Quebecor, which also controls 40 percent of newspapers and broadcast news in the mostly French-speaking province, only recently entered politics, winning a seat in Quebec's legislature in April.

At the same time, he shocked many by revealing his support for Quebec independence.

The Party Quebecois's former leader quit after the party suffered a crushing defeat at the polls, opening the door for Peladeau to seek the leadership in May.

He currently leads four other candidates for the leadership, according to the latest public opinion polls.

It's unclear, however, if he can revive support for the separatist movement, which is at its lowest level since the Parti Quebecois first sought power in 1970.

"We have four years to convince voters that we would be better off independent," he told students. The next general election is scheduled for 2018.