Old Brewery Mission’s James Hughes announces run on Quebec Liberals’ ticket

The Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) announced another major candidate for the provincial election this fall.

Old Brewery Mission president and CEO James Hughes will seek the Vaudreuil seat in October after longtime Liberal MNA Marie-Claude Nichols, who currently holds the seat, said she was dropping her re-election bid.

At a Thursday press conference announcing his candidacy, Hughes said homelessness and housing will be top issues in the upcoming election.

“Quebecers expect the next government to decrease homelessness and the PLQ will deliver the goods,” he said.

PLQ Leader Charles Milliard said Hughes’ recruitment as a candidate showed that the party was not only taking the homelessness crisis seriously but will also take tackle it head on.

“So over the coming months with the help of James and all the team we will unveil a concrete plan that will be designed to address the urgent needs on the ground,” Milliard said, adding that Hughes will bring his experience and network at the national and provincial level to Quebec City, if elected.

Milliard also acknowledged Nichols, who will retire after serving for 12 years as the Liberal MNA for Vaudreuil, calling her a “real defender” of the region.

‘Transformational’ change needed

Hughes said his entry into politics comes after advocating several years for major changes in how the governments tackled homelessness.

“Frustration is not just what I felt, but the whole sector has felt to see these increases happen every year and every year,” he said. “It’s not to say the existing government has done nothing. They have made investments, but not at the transformational level that we need.”

A homelessness survey in 2025 showed that the number of people experiencing homelessness across the province jumped to 12,000 — a 20 per cent in three years — with the crisis spreading beyond Montreal to other regions in Quebec. The study showed that 57 per cent of the unhoused people also experienced mental health issues.

Hughes said that the nature of homelessness was also changing based on his observations at the Old Brewery Mission.

“Older people, younger people, more women than we’ve ever seen. More people with LGBTQ, more Indigenous people. It’s scary to see these volumes.”

He added that a modern, province-wide approach was needed to tackle the crisis.

“It’s right now that municipal municipalities largely all by themselves who are doing it,” he added. “So it was the time for me to say, ‘okay, I want to start thinking about how to change the rules, not just live within the current rules.'”

Interim Old Brewery president named

With Hughes’ departure, the Old Brewery Mission named Matthew Pearce as interim president effective Aug. 17

Pearce previously served as CEO of the Old Brewery Mission from 2008 to 2020.

An external recruitment process will attempt to identify a permanent successor.

“The Board of Directors would like to extend its warmest thanks to James for his leadership and his contribution to the Old Brewery Mission,” said Louis Audet, Chair of the board of directors of the Old Brewery Mission. “He leaves behind an organization that is growing and has continued to innovate in order to offer sustainable solutions to the homelessness crisis.

“We are also very pleased to welcome Matthew Pearce, whose in-depth knowledge of the organization will ensure strong continuity during this transition.”

The Old Brewery Mission says the transition will not impact its services.

Building momentum

Political analyst Karim Boulos says the Liberals will be looking to Hughes’ experience and credibility to woo voters for whom homelessness may be a big concern.

“Hughes is a relatively well-known household name when it comes to helping the homeless sector,” Boulos said.

Hughes’ nomination comes as the PLQ looks to build momentum weeks before the campaign is set to officially kick off. The party has so far announced candidates in over three-quarters of the total 125 ridings.

On Wednesday, the party announced that Michel Leblanc, former president and CEO of the Montreal Chamber of Commerce (CCMM), will be the candidate for the Marguerite-Bourgeoys riding, located in southwest of Montreal. Milliard had described Leblanc’s arrival as an “announcement with a strong economic focus.”

The high-profile candidacies are also part of the party’s broader strategy to appeal to different sections of the electorate ahead of the October elections.

“Mr. Milliard needs to make some inroads with more than just the Montreal community and the Montreal western anglophone community,” Boulos said. “So if they do win, Mr. Leblanc, Mr. Hughes  will be given some high-profile dossiers to manage.”

Cautious optimism

Some Montreal housing advocates told CityNews that Hughes’ expertise in tackling homelessness would be an asset.

“James Hughes will provide valuable expertise related to housing in the National Assembly and it is terrific that he has decided to run in Vaudreuil,” Welcome Hall Mission CEO Sam Watts said.

Others pointed out that he will face an uphill battle.

“You overlook things like the realities of properly funding projects so that they can succeed,” said David Chapman, executive director of Résilience Montréal.

He says that success, if Hughes is elected, would mean pushing back against some of the austerity measures undertaken by the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) government and changing the province’s approach to housing people.

“It would mean budgets increasing many times over in the area of homelessness,” Chapman said. “It would mean moving away from these silly models that are always focusing on trying to get the most people housed for the absolute smallest amount of money.”

Hughes acknowledged that sustainable solutions like increasing social and affordable housing will take time to materialize.

“This is not going to be overnight,” he said. “The kinds of preservation and construction objectives that we need in the housing area, that will have to be lifted enormously.”

However, the candidate said policy and legal changes to help the municipalities can be done much quicker.

“Encampment policy, helping municipalities, we can probably get that out the door really quickly, that’s absolutely crucial,” Hughes said. “Thinking about legal reforms to try to prevent homelessness, prevent evictions, those can get out the door at the speed of the legislature.”

Quebecers head to the polls Oct. 5.