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Quebec Liberals Prepare to Elect New Leader to Revive Party

Party members will decide on June 15 if a candidate can rebuild ties in francophone regions, energize younger voters in time for the 2026 election.

Quebec Liberal Party leadership candidates, from left, Marc Bélanger, Mario Roy, Charles Milliard, Pablo Rodriguez and Karl Blackburn pose for a photograph following the Quebec Liberal Party French-language leadership debate in Laval, Que., Saturday, May 3, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
Quebec Liberal Party leadership candidate Pablo Rodriguez gives a speech at the Quebec Liberal Party Leadership Conference in Quebec City, Saturday, June 14, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Joel Ryan
A Liberal Party of Canada logo is shown on a giant screen as a technician looks on during day one of the party's biennial convention in Montreal, Thusday, Feb. 20, 2014. Federal Liberals say they've picked up another seat in Quebec after a judicial recount.They say incumbent Brenda Shanahan will be returning to Parliament after the recount declared her the winner in Chateauguay-Lacolle over her Bloc Quebecois rival by just 12 votes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Overview

  • The party holds 19 seats almost entirely around Montreal after losses to François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec in 2018 and 2022.
  • Surging support for the sovereigntist Parti Québécois in recent polls poses a challenge despite its mere five seats in the legislature.
  • Pablo Rodriguez leads in a May Léger survey and is viewed as the front-runner thanks to his federal profile, but his regional appeal remains in question.
  • Leadership rules assign equal points to each of Quebec’s 125 ridings, with one-third of the points reserved for members under 25 to boost youth influence.
  • Candidates have criticized Legault’s economic record and pledged to unite voters as they seek to reclaim Official Opposition status by October 2026.