PLQ leadership race | Former ministers to co-chair Charles Milliard’s campaign

(Quebec) Former president of the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce, Charles Milliard, announces that former ministers Lucie Charlebois and Jean D’Amour will co-chair his campaign in the race for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ).

In a press release on Tuesday, Mr. Milliard wrote that Jean D’Amour, former mayor of Rivière-du-Loup, former minister delegate for maritime affairs and member for Rivière-du-Loup–Témiscouata from 2009 to 2018, will have a “central role” in his campaign. He will have to provide him with strategic advice.

For her part, the former member for Soulanges in Montérégie from 2003 to 2018 and former Minister Delegate for Rehabilitation, Youth Protection, Public Health and Healthy Lifestyles, declared that Mr. Milliard will have a speech to “put the economy back at the heart of the Liberal discourse.”

The Liberals will hold their pre-sessional caucus next week in Gatineau, Outaouais, while the parliamentary session will resume on September 10 in Quebec City. In addition to Mr. Milliard, former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre has also announced that he will be in the race to succeed Dominique Anglade as leader of the PLQ. The member for the Marguerite-Bourgeoys riding in Montreal, Frédéric Beauchemin, is also expected to enter the race imminently.

While in Halifax, Nova Scotia this week for the Trudeau cabinet retreat, federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez refused to confirm that he would enter the race for the PLQ. Observers, however, expect Mr. Rodriguez to make an announcement after the by-election in the riding of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, which Justin Trudeau’s Liberals are trying to hold on to. Victoriaville Mayor Antoine Tardif, a former advisor to independent federal MP Alain Rayes, is also considering it.

The PLQ leadership race will begin on January 13. Four debates are planned for the spring and the new leader must be elected on June 14 at a rally in Quebec City.