Quebec Liberal Party to choose next leader March 14
Posted December 23, 2025 11:25 am.
Last Updated December 23, 2025 3:03 pm.
The next leader of the Quebec Liberal Party will be chosen in March.
The party unveiled details of its upcoming leadership race, which was triggered following the resignation of former leader Pablo Rodriguez last week. Rodriguez held the party’s top job for just over six months.
Consumed by controversy for several weeks, including allegations of cash-for-votes and donor reimbursement during his own leadership campaign in June, Rodriguez stepped down.
The next leadership race will launch Jan. 12, with prospective candidates needing to pay a $30,000 deposit and collect 750 signatures from party members to be eligible. The election spending limit has been set at $120,000, excluding the deposit.
The deadline for filing nomination papers is Feb. 13, after which the leadership hopefuls will take part in yet-to-be-announced debates.
The leadership convention, during which the next leader will be chosen, will take place March 14. Once elected, the new leader will have to lead the party to the general election, which is scheduled for Oct. 5, 2026.
Veteran Liberal member Marc Tanguay is serving as interim leader until Rodriguez’s successor is elected.
Former candidate Karl Blackburn has expressed interest in running for the leadership again, while opponent Charles Milliard has said he is still considering his options.
Despite some chatter about Marwah Rizqy taking a crack at the party leadership, the Saint-Laurent MNA put those suggestions to rest mere moments after Rodriguez announced he was stepping down.
It was Rizqy’s firing of her chief of staff Geneviève Hinse without Rodriguez’s approval that launched a series of other dismissals and allegations into Rodriguez’s leadership campaign, the totality of which prompted and ongoing investigation by Quebec’s anti-corruption police (UPAC).
The final blow came early last week when the Journal de Montréal alleged that some 20 donors to Rodriguez’s leadership campaign had their $500 contributions refunded at a fundraising event – a violation under Quebec’s Election Act.
There was also the earlier allegation that some party members who voted for Rodriguez may have received $1,000 cash rewards. The PLQ has said the 14 people who received surplus money, a list that allegedly includes Hinse, were the volunteers who put in the most hours.
It remains unclear which allegations UPAC is investigating and whether any of that is related to Rizqy relieving Hinse of her duties.
Rodriguez has always maintained he did nothing wrong.
–With files from The Canadian Press
