QUEBEC — Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard says he won’t be pursuing legal action against Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon for now.
On Sunday, Milliard gave St-Pierre Plamondon 72 hours to retract and apologize for comments suggesting a link between the Liberals and organized crime. After that time ran out, Milliard said he is not obliged to act on his threat right away.
The law gives him up to a year, Milliard said on X.
“It’s a deadline that concerns (St-Pierre Plamondon),” Milliard said. “We are under no deadline, so the Quebec Liberal Party retains all its rights including the possibility to follow through.”
Dimanche dernier, le Parti libéral du Québec a envoyé une mise en demeure à Paul St-Pierre Plamondon en lien avec ses propos inacceptables et mensongers qui dépassaient les limites d’une joute politique saine au Québec.
Les opinions publiques peuvent diverger quant à la…
— Charles Milliard (@CharlesMilliard) June 18, 2026
Questioned by reporters at an event in Quebec City to announce a new candidate for the election, Milliard invited the other leaders to conduct a campaign “based on ideas and not misleading allegations.”
On Sunday, Milliard called a news conference to announce he had served St-Pierre Plamondon with a mise en demeure, or legal warning letter, threatening legal action if he did not retract and apologize for comments he made at a news conference June 12.
Zeroing in on recent ethical issues linked to the 2025 Liberal leadership campaign, St-Pierre Plamondon said until the party cleans house, it is not fit to govern.
“(The Liberals) did financing that is apparently illicit and they are activities that involved dozens of people,” he said in reference to an organizer allegedly compensating supporters for donations to Pablo Rodriguez’s leadership campaign.
The allegations are part of an investigation being conducted by Quebec’s anti-corruption unit, UPAC.
“There have been links that have been made with a federal MP. Are there links with organized crime? What we know for certain is that there was a financing event to create a secret bank.”
St-Pierre Plamondon did not retract or apologize for the comments. He said he had consulted his lawyers and saw no need to.
He stressed it’s his right as an MNA to ask questions.
There was no comment Thursday from the PQ on the Liberals’ decision.
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