Interim Quebec Liberal leader: “I expected it to be more rock ‘n’ roll,” says Tanguay

It’s been a long interim mandate—two and a half years—for Marc Tanguay as leader of the Quebec Liberal Party. A reign that will end Saturday with the election of a new leader. The party leader says he’s “calm,” but also admits that bridging the gap between two official leaders presented challenges. 

Tanguay had to show restraint first, knowing that he would not be leading the Liberal troops in the 2026 election. 

“The biggest challenge is to ensure that, on all issues, we have a position consistent with our historical Liberal positions (…) because going beyond that is done within the framework of the leadership race, it is up to them (the candidates) and it is up to the members to judge,” he explained in an interview with The Canadian Press. 

A balancing act that was not always easy for the interim leader. 

In October 2024, Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy indicated that the PLQ was now opposed to funding denominational schools. 

However, historically, the party was in favor of this. This about-face caused a stir, and some MNA’s publicly expressed their disagreement with the new position. 

At this point, the interim Liberal leader did not hide his irritation and assured that there would be internal discussions. 

Finally, last March, a report from the party’s Political Commission recommended a middle ground, namely that “public money should not be used to teach religion” in Quebec schools. 

“It allowed us to take a current issue, take stock of the situation and update the proposal,” Tanguay said in an interview today. 

Despite everything, the interim leader assures that he has been able to maintain unity among his deputies, even though the vast majority of them supported either Charles Milliard or Pablo Rodriguez in the leadership race. 

“In all honesty, I expected it to be a little more rock ‘n’ roll,” says Tanguay.

He remembers the 2013 leadership race, where things were much more heated among the Liberal elected officials. 

“I didn’t feel any tensions were brought back within the caucus,” he maintains. 

Liberal members will choose their new leader on Saturday. In addition to Charles Milliard and Pablo Rodriguez, the candidates are former CEO of the Quebec Employers Council Karl Blackburn, tax lawyer Marc Bélanger, and Beauce farmer Mario Roy. 

No matter who wins, it is therefore certain that the next Liberal leader will not have a seat in the Red Room. 

“Our leader will have access to the press gallery at the National Assembly every week, along with other elected colleagues. He will then be visible in the media,” assures Tanguay.

According to him, the fact that the next leader is an unelected person will allow him to spend more time on the ground preparing for the October 2026 election.  

“There are candidates to recruit, we must return to the regions and regain the trust of all Quebecers throughout Quebec,” says Marc Tanguay. 

The winner of the race will therefore have to designate a caucus representative as parliamentary leader who will face François Legault during question period. Would Marc Tanguay be interested in continuing in this role? 

“I will assume the duties that the next leader sees fit to entrust to me. That said, I will be open to any possibility, including remaining leader of the official opposition. But having said that, it is not a wish that I am expressing,” he replied.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews