Quebec Liberal leader calls for external investigation into report on cash for votes

Quebec Liberal leader Pablo Rodriguez responds to accusations about cash for votes in his leadership race.

Pablo Rodriguez is facing his biggest crisis since becoming leader of the Quebec Liberals in June, after a news report on Wednesday alleged some party members were paid to vote for him in the leadership campaign.

Visibly shaken and combative, Rodriguez repeatedly told reporters he has nothing to hide and that he asked the president of the Liberals to investigate the allegations. He also said anyone found to have committed wrongdoing would face “extremely serious” consequences.

“I was a minister for many years, MP for many years — never did anyone question my integrity,” Rodriguez said at party headquarters in Montreal, referring to his time in federal politics before he left to run provincially.

Rodriguez made the comments in response to a report by Quebecor alleging two people who “actively worked” to elect Rodriguez as Liberal leader had exchanged text messages suggesting some members would receive cash rewards in exchange for their votes.

The news outlet did not identify the names of the people who had allegedly sent the text messages, and The Canadian Press has not verified whether the messages are authentic.

On Wednesday morning, 98.5 FM reported that Liberal MNA Sona Lakhoyan Olivier and CAQ MNA Alice Abou-Khalil were the people involved in the exchange of text messages, but the two members of the legislature quickly denied the allegations.

“We don’t even know if these texts are real or fake,” Rodriguez said.

Party president Rafael Primeau-Ferraro said that the party learned about “very vague” allegations in April with zero documentation. He didn’t go into details.

The party executive added that the investigation would be handled by a third party.

The latest revelations are piling on to other bad news this week for the party and Rodriguez. On Tuesday, Rodriguez dismissed Marwah Rizqy from her position as parliamentary leader and suspended her from the caucus, citing a “breach of trust.”

He said he took the decision after learning that Rizqy had fired her chief of staff, Geneviève Hinse, without consulting him first, adding that he had “no idea” Hinse was dismissed.

Rodriguez, who doesn’t hold a seat in the legislature, had entrusted Rizqy to serve as the party’s leader in the national assembly until the 2026 general election. She had endorsed Rodriguez in the leadership race.

It’s unclear whether the allegations in the text messages published on Wednesday are related to the drama between Rizqy and Hinse.

Rodriguez said the timing of the allegations in the text messages was not lost on him, saying the reports are diverting attention from the work the party has been doing to rebuild support among voters, especially francophones.

He said that since he was elected leader, about 250 people have come forward to run for the party in the 2026 election. “The money is coming in … old donors are coming back. For the polls — it’s clearly a two-way race and we are not far from the (Parti Québécois).”

In recent months, the Liberals have been slowly climbing in the polls, with a November Leger survey putting them five points behind the first-place PQ.

The crisis within the Quebec Liberals reached Ottawa on Wednesday, where a few of Rodriguez’s former colleagues expressed their support for him.

“Pablo was not only my colleague, he was also my friend. I think he’s the right person to manage crises,” Stéphane Lauzon, the Liberal MNA for Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, told reporters.

“Obviously, Pablo is a great friend. I support him,” added Pontiac—Kitigan Zibi MP Sophie Chatel.

“He’s a longtime colleague I’ve known for a very long time. I trust Pablo,” added Steven MacKinnon, leader of the government in the House of Commons.

For his part, Quebec Centre MP Jean-Yves Duclos acknowledged that the matter raises several questions. “I think a lot of people are asking questions about the situation, and obviously, I’m one of them, but we’ll see what the details are.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2025.

—With files from Thomas Laberge and Caroline Plante in Quebec City, and Émilie Bergeron and Frédéric Lacroix-Couture in Ottawa