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The leader of the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), Charles Milliard, is putting the leader of the Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois (PQ) on notice over comments Paul St-Pierre Plamondon made linking the PLQ to organized crime on the last day of the legislature before the fall elections.<\/p>\n
On Friday, St-Pierre Plamondon used the discussion on the ongoing investigation by Quebec’s anti-corruption unit into the PLQ’s 2025 leadership race as a springboard to raise questions around the PLQ’s funding. He said that, though there is no evidence, the theory that some of the party’s money came from organized crime is “legitimate and logical.”<\/p>\n
During a news conference on Sunday morning, Milliard said he took issue with attacks on the party’s reputation, calling St-Pierre Plamondon’s comments “irresponsible, defamatory and unworthy” of a person who aspires to the premiership. <\/p>\n
“There’s a fundamental difference between taking legitimate actions and throwing around baseless accusations in the spirit of misleading the population and sowing doubt,” Milliard said in French. <\/p>\n
He said his party will take legal action against St-Pierre Plamondon if he does not retract his comments and issue an apology. According to the legal notice reviewed by Radio-Canada, Milliard is giving St-Pierre Plamondon 72 hours to do so. <\/p>\n
St-Pierre Plamondon asserted he would do no such thing in a news conference of his own a few hours later, adding this isn’t the first time the PLQ has threatened to sue him.<\/p>\n
WATCH | Political experts say Quebecers better ‘buckle up’ for the fall election:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781480469_370_default.jpg\")
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Quebec Liberal Party wants apology from Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois leader<\/p>\n
A clash between Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and the Quebec Liberal Party over controversial comments involving organized crime has some political experts predicting Quebecers are in for an action-packed provincial election campaign this fall.<\/p>\n
The PQ leader also said he did not connect the PLQ to organized crime but was merely raising a question.<\/p>\n
“I asked questions about the unresolved origin of the funds used in an illegal financing scheme, and it was in this specific context that I posed, in the form of a question, a hypothesis that is perfectly plausible,” he said in French.<\/p>\n
MNAs are accorded legal immunity for statements made during debates at the National Assembly. However, the Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois leader’s attack on his Liberal rivals occurred during his party’s year-end review, a press conference that does not offer such protection.<\/p>\n
Quebec’s anti-corruption unit, known as UPAC, is investigating alleged illegal financing during the PLQ leadership race that elected Pablo Rodriguez last summer. <\/p>\n