Quicksketch: A look at newly acclaimed Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard

Quebec Liberal Party leadership candidate Charles Milliard speaks during a media availability as the Quebec Liberal Party caucus meets in Gatineau, Que., on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

MONTREAL — Charles Milliard was acclaimed leader of the Quebec Liberal Party on Friday, replacing Pablo Rodriguez who resigned in December after just six months in the role.

The party has been facing a political crisis involving allegations of vote-buying and reimbursed donations in the 2025 leadership race.

• READ MORE: Charles Milliard acclaimed as new leader of Quebec Liberal Party

Here’s a look at Milliard, a member of the order of Quebec pharmacists, who promises to renew the party ahead of the provincial election scheduled for Oct. 5.

Age: 46

Hometown: Lévis, Que.

Before politics: Milliard graduated from Université Laval with a bachelor of pharmacy and a certificate in economics in 2002. He later earned both a postgraduate diploma in management in 2005 and master of business administration in 2007 from HEC Montréal.

Between 2003 and 2016, he worked in variety of roles for pharmacy chain Uniprix Inc., including as a vice-president and executive vice-president. Millard later worked for two years with National Public Relations Inc.

Milliard served as president and CEO of the federation of chambers of commerce of Quebec between 2020 and 2024.

In 2025, he was executive in residence at Bishop’s University’s Williams School of Business.

Political career: Millard placed second behind Rodriguez in the 2025 Quebec Liberal leadership race. He was the only candidate for the 2026 Liberal leadership race, triggered after Rodriguez, a former federal minister stepped down.

Milliard had been approached by the federal Liberals to run in a 2024 byelection in the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, but declined to focus on provincial politics.

Quote: “I want to be premier of Quebec … to create wealth in Quebec, to redistribute it, to finance our social model, to support our regions and to nurture our culture,” Milliard said on Jan. 17 officially announcing his candidacy for a second leadership bid. “I also want to reunite Quebecers. I want everyone to feel at home here, and to put an end to the divisions that slow us down and that frankly bother me.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2026.

By Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press