Quebec Liberals not following through on threat to sue PQ leader for defamation — for now

Parti Québécois (PQ) Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon (left) and Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) Leader Charles Milliard (right).

The Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) says it will not be following through on its threat to take legal action against Parti Québécois (PQ) Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon — for now.

On Sunday, the Liberals sent a formal notice to St-Pierre Plamondon, giving him 72 hours to retract his remarks linking the PLQ to “organized crime” and issue a formal apology.

The request was flatly rejected by the PQ leader.

“The 72-hour deadline we set for him to retract his remarks has now expired. I sincerely believed he would do so,” wrote Liberal Leader Charles Milliard on X on Thursday.

“That said, that deadline was his own. As far as we are concerned, we are not bound by it. Consequently, the PLQ reserves all its rights, including the right to take legal action. Discussions to this effect are ongoing.”

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At a press conference last week, St-Pierre Plamondon said of the PLQ: “Fundraising has taken place that is clearly illegal, and these are activities involving dozens of people.”

“Links have been established with an MNA. Are there links to organized crime? What we know for certain is that a fundraising event to set up a slush fund did take place,” he said.

Milliard responded that the PQ leader’s remarks were “unacceptable,” “false,” and went “beyond the bounds of healthy political debate in Quebec.”

“This morning, I dare to continue hoping that in Quebec we can have an election campaign where ideas are vigorously debated, without resorting to petty exchanges that would do no one any good,” he wrote in his X post.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 18, 2026.