Charles Milliard calls for liberal forces to rally behind Pablo Rodriguez
Posted June 19, 2025 7:55 am.
A few days after his narrow defeat for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), Charles Milliard called on the Liberals to rally behind Pablo Rodriguez. At the same time, he said he was “more proud than sad” about what he had accomplished in recent months.
“I’m a party guy. So, I tried to lead the party, I almost succeeded, but that being said, I’m rallying behind the current leader, and we’re going to work together. (…) And I invite people to rally,” he assured in an interview with The Canadian Press.
A revelation in this long race, Charles Milliard caused a surprise by narrowly beating former Liberal MNA Karl Blackburn in the first round and overtaking leader Rodriguez in the second.
He obtained 47.7 per cent of the points, compared to 52.3 per cent for the man who became the new leader of the PLQ.
Milliard says he is not “surprised” by this result.
“I’ve been attending all the party events for a year and I could see that there was real enthusiasm,” he says.
“I’m definitely more proud than sad right now. I think we’ve built something strong and something that will last,” he said.
“In Search of Lost Time”
The former CEO of the Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce still intends to run in the next general election in 2026 in the riding of Orford.
“I really have a very strong team in Estrie who, I think, want to get back to this and work together,” he said.
But first and foremost, Milliard wants to take some time to rest and reflect.
He will go on vacation to Germany and take the opportunity to read “In Search of Lost Time” by Marcel Proust.
At the end of the line, the person concerned assures that there is no link between the title of the book and the time he devoted to the leadership of the PLQ.
“It’s a classic that I’ve wanted to read for a long time, but I don’t want the title to be misinterpreted,” he says, laughing.
And unlike Proust, who wrote at the beginning of his masterpiece: “For a long time, I went to bed early,” Milliard had to go to sleep very late in recent months – and will have to continue to do so in order to pursue his political commitment.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
