The 2025 Quebec Liberal Party leadership election was held from June 9 to 14, 2025, to elect a new leader to replace former Quebec Liberal Party leader Dominique Anglade, who announced her resignation on November 7, 2022 amid mounting criticism within the party for her performance in the 2022 Quebec general election and for her subsequent decision to remove Liberal MNA Marie-Claude Nichols from caucus. Anglade had led the party to losses in the election held a month earlier, finishing with only 21 seats and 14% of the popular vote, their lowest seat count since 1956 and their lowest share of the popular vote in their history; while the party remained the official opposition, they fell behind the governing Coalition Avenir Québec and opposition Québec solidaire and Parti Québécois to place fourth in the popular vote.
Former federal cabinet minister Pablo Rodriguez was elected on the second ballot against former Quebec chamber of commerce president Charles Milliard by less than 5 percentage points. Rodriguez became the first Hispanic to lead a provincial party in Quebec. Rodriguez also was the first former federal cabinet minister to be elected to lead the Quebec Liberal Party since Jean Charest in 1998 and the first one from the federal Liberal Party since Jean Lesage in 1960.
In November 2025, Rodriguez served a legal notice to newspaper Le Journal de Montréal, after it reported that Quebec Liberal Party members were allegedly financially rewarded for voting for Rodriguez in the leadership election; he denied the accusations. After mounting criticism from within the party, Rodriguez resigned as leader in December 2025; Milliard would succeed him in February 2026.
Rules and procedures
The race officially started on January 13, 2025. The candidate registration period runs from January 13 to April 11, 2025. To be registered in the race, candidates need to collect signatures from 750 party members from at least 70 electoral districts and 12 administrative regions with 350 of them needing to be new members who joined after May 27, 2024. Candidates also need to deposit an $40,000 entry fee to be registered. The spending limit will be $400,000. Candidates must also be approved by the party's Electoral Committee; if they are rejected they may appeal to the Arbitration Committee within 5 days. Votes are weighed by riding and age, meaning there's pressure for candidates to appeal to Quebec's different regions and young people in the points-based electoral system.
The voting period will be between June 9 and 14, 2025, with anyone who was a member of the party on May 20 being able to vote. Points will be allocated to candidates with the one receiving over 50% of the total amount of points becoming leader of the party. If no candidate reaches this threshold, a second round will be organized between the two candidates who received the most points from the first round. Each electoral district will have 2,000 points to be distributed according to the vote of members 26 years old and older in that district, for a total of 250,000 points. 125,000 points will be allocated according to the vote of members 25 years old and younger across the province. The new leader will be announced on June 14, 2025, during a convention in Quebec City.
The requirements to enter the race, the spending limit and timeframes for the start of the race and the election, set in late 2024 and in the spring of 2025, respectively, were announced in October 2023. The precise dates of the start of the race and the voting period and other parts of the procedure were announced in April 2024.
Debates
In April 2024, the party announced that, if more than one candidate is running for election, five debates will be organized between April 12 and June 8, 2025.
Candidates
Official
Disqualified
Withdrawn
Declined
- Gaétan Barrette, Minister of Health and Social Services (2014âÂÂ2018), MNA for La Pinière (2014âÂÂ2022).
- Sophie Brochu, President and CEO of Hydro-Québec (2020âÂÂ2023).
- Madwa-Nika Cadet, Co-president of the Committee on the Revival of the QLP (2023), MNA for Bourassa-Sauvé (2022âÂÂpresent).
- François-Philippe Champagne, federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (2021âÂÂ2025), Minister of Foreign Affairs (2019âÂÂ2021), Minister of Infrastructure and Communities (2018âÂÂ2019), Minister of International Trade (2017âÂÂ2018), MP for Saint-MauriceâÂÂChamplain (2015âÂÂpresent).
- Guy Cormier, President and CEO of Desjardins Group (2016âÂÂpresent).
- , Candidate in the 2020 Quebec Liberal Party leadership election, Mayor of Drummondville (2013âÂÂ2020), President of the Union des Municipalités du Québec (2017âÂÂ2019).
- Monsef Derraji, MNA for Nelligan (2018âÂÂpresent).
- Antoine Dionne Charest, Member of the Committee on the Revival of the QLP (2023), Son of former premier Jean Charest.
- Mario Dumont, Leader of the Action Démocratique du Québec (1994âÂÂ2009), Leader of the Official Opposition (2007âÂÂ2008), MNA for Rivière-du-Loup (1994âÂÂ2009).
- André Fortin, Minister of Transport, Sustainable Mobility and Transport Electrification (2017âÂÂ2018), MNA for Pontiac (2014âÂÂpresent).
- Jean-Marc Fournier, Interim Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party (2012âÂÂ2013), Leader of the Official Opposition (2012âÂÂ2013), Minister of Justice (2010âÂÂ2012), Leader of the government in parliament (2007âÂÂ2008; 2010âÂÂ2012; 2014âÂÂ2018), Minister of Revenue (2007âÂÂ2008), Minister of Education, Leisure and Sports (2005âÂÂ2007), Minister of Municipal Affairs, Sports and Leisure (2003âÂÂ2005), MNA for Châteauguay (1994âÂÂ2008), MNA for Saint-Laurent (2010âÂÂ2018).
- Sam Hamad, President of the Treasury Board (2016), Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity (2015âÂÂ2016), Minister of Labour (2014âÂÂ2015), Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade (2011âÂÂ2012), Minister of Transport (2010âÂÂ2011), Minister of Labour (2009âÂÂ2010), Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity (2007âÂÂ2010), Minister of Natural Resources, Wildlife and Parks (2003âÂÂ2005), MNA for Louis-Hébert (2003âÂÂ2017).
- Balarama Holness, Candidate in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in 2022, Leader of Bloc Montreal (2022âÂÂpresent), Candidate for Mayor of Montreal in 2021, Leader of Mouvement Montréal (2021âÂÂpresent), Former canadian football player.
- Joël Lightbound, MP for Louis-Hébert (2015âÂÂpresent).
- Bruno Marchand, Mayor of Quebec City (2021âÂÂpresent).
- Pierre Moreau, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources (2017âÂÂ2018), President of the Treasury Board (2017), Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports (2016), Minister of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy (2014âÂÂ2016), Candidate in the 2013 Quebec Liberal Party leadership election, Minister of Transport (2011âÂÂ2012), Minister responsible for Canadian Intergovernmental Affairs and the Canadian Francophonie (2011), MNA for Marguerite-D'Youville (2003âÂÂ2007) and Châteauguay (2008âÂÂ2018).
- André Pratte, Co-president of the Committee on the Revival of the QLP (2023), Federal Senator for De Salaberry (2016âÂÂ2019).
- Alain Rayes, Quebec lieutenant for the Conservative Party of Canada (2017âÂÂ2020; 2021âÂÂ2022), MP for RichmondâÂÂArthabaska (2015âÂÂ2025), Mayor of Victoriaville (2009âÂÂ2015).
- Marwah Rizqy, MNA for Saint-Laurent (2018âÂÂpresent).
- Marc Tanguay, Interim Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party (2022âÂÂ2025), Leader of the Official Opposition (2022âÂÂ2025), MNA for LaFontaine (2012âÂÂpresent).
- , Mayor of Victoriaville (2021âÂÂpresent), Mayor of Daveluyville (2013âÂÂ2016), Former ice hockey goaltender.
Endorsements
Marc Bélanger
Karl Blackburn
Charles Milliard
Pablo Rodriguez
Declined to endorse
Opinion polling
Leadership election
Liberal supporters
All Quebecers
General election
Karl Blackburn as leader
Charles Milliard as leader
Pablo Rodriguez as leader
Results
See also
Notes
References