False start for PQ: Quebec Ethics Commissioner launches probe into Marissal on day 1 of campaign
Posted August 27, 2026 10:48 am.
Last Updated August 27, 2026 10:44 am.
On Day 1 of the election campaign, Ethics and Professional Conduct Commissioner Ariane Mignolet threw a wrench into the Parti Québécois’ (PQ) plans by announcing the opening of an investigation into Vincent Marissal.
Marissal, a former Québec solidaire (QS) member of the National Assembly who became an independent, announced on Monday that he was running for the PQ in Taschereau.
However, 48 hours later, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon rejected his candidacy due to possible ethical violations.
According to reports, Marissal allegedly lent out his apartment—for which he received an allowance from the National Assembly—in exchange for free accommodations elsewhere in the world through an online home-sharing platform.
In a press release issued Thursday morning, Commissioner Mignolet stated that she launches an investigation when she has reasonable grounds to believe that a breach may have occurred.
Marissal assured, in a brief message on social media, that he will cooperate fully with the investigation.
A false start for the PQ
Nevertheless, this marks a difficult start for the PQ. As early as Monday, the decision to field Marissal—a Montrealer—as a candidate in Taschereau, in Quebec City, had sparked discontent among PQ activists, according to La Presse.
This added to the unease caused by the nomination of a former CHOI Radio X journalist, François Gariépy, in Charlevoix-Côte-de-Beaupré.
Since the announcement of Gariépy’s candidacy, several of his offensive remarks have resurfaced, making headlines almost daily.
On Thursday morning, La Presse also reported that Gariépy had used the word “squaw” in a podcast to refer to Indigenous women, something he now says he “regrets.”
The use of the word “squaw” is “incompatible” with the “relationship of trust” that the PQ hopes to build with First Nations, said Francis Verreault-Paul, chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, in an immediate response.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
