Quebec Liberal Party Parti libéral du Québec
Abbreviation	PLQ QLP
Leader	Charles Milliard
President	Rafael Primeau Ferraro
Parliamentary leader	André Fortin
Founded	July 1, 1867; 158 years ago (July 1, 1867)
Headquarters	Montreal, Quebec, H2R 2Y8 Quebec City, Quebec, G1S 2P1
Membership(2025)	c. 20,000[1]
Ideology	Liberalism Canadian federalism
Political position	Centre[2] tocentre-right[3] 1990s: Centre-right[4]
National affiliation	Liberal Party of Canada (until 1955)
Colours	Red and blue
Seats in theNational Assembly	19 / 125
Website
plq.org/fr/
Politics of Quebec Political parties Elections

TheQuebec Liberal Party (QLP;French:Parti libéral du Québec[paʁtilibeʁaldykebɛk],PLQ) is a provincialpolitical party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federalLiberal Party of Canada since 1955.^[5][6][7]

The QLP has traditionally supported a form ofQuebec federalist ideology with nuancedCanadian nationalist tones that supports Quebec remaining within the Canadian federation, while also supporting reforms that would allow substantialautonomism in Quebec. In the context of federalCanadian politics,^[8] it is a morecentrist party when compared to Conservative and Liberal parties in other provinces, such as the formerBritish Columbia Liberal Party.^[9]

The Liberal Party is descended from theParti canadien (or Parti Patriote), who supported the 1837Lower Canada Rebellion, and theParti rouge, which fought forresponsible government and against the authority of theRoman Catholic Church inLower Canada.The most notable figure of this period wasLouis-Joseph Papineau.

The Liberals were in opposition to the ruling Conservatives for most of the first 20 years afterCanadian Confederation, except for 18 months of Liberalminority government in 1878–1879. However, the situation changed in 1885 when the federalConservative government refused to commute the death sentence ofLouis Riel, the leader of the French-speakingMétis people of western Canada. This decision was unpopular in Quebec.Honoré Mercier rode this wave of discontent to power in 1887, but was brought down by a scandal in 1891. He was later cleared of all charges. The Conservatives returned to power until 1897.

The Liberals won the1897 election, and held power without interruption for the next 39 years; the Conservatives never held power in Quebec again. This mirrored the situation in Ottawa, where the arrival ofWilfrid Laurier in the1896 federal election marked the beginning ofLiberal Party of Canada dominance at the federal level. Notable long-servingPremiers of Quebec in this era wereLomer Gouin andLouis-Alexandre Taschereau.

By 1935, the Conservatives had an ambitious new leader,Maurice Duplessis. Duplessis merged his party with dissident ex-Liberals who had formed theAction libérale nationale. Duplessis led the new party, theUnion Nationale (UN), to power in the1936 election. The Liberals returned to power in the1939 election, but lost it again in the1944 election. They remained in opposition to the Union Nationale until one year after Duplessis's death in 1959.

In 1955, the QLP severed its affiliation with theLiberal Party of Canada.^{[citation needed]}

The Quebec Liberal Party has faced various opposing parties in its history. Its main opponent from the time of the Confederation (1867) to the 1930s was theParti conservateur du Québec. That party's successor, theUnion Nationale, was the main opposition to the Liberals until the 1970s. Since then the Liberals have alternated in power with theParti Québécois, aQuebec sovereigntist, self-describedsocial-democratic party and very recently with theCoalition Avenir Québec, aQuebec autonomist andconservative party.

The contemporary Quebec Liberal Party is abroad-based federalist and multiculturalist coalition, including among its members supporters of the federalLiberals,New Democratic Party,Bloc Québécois,Greens, andConservatives.

UnderJean Lesage, the party won anhistoric election victory in 1960, ending sixteen years of rule by the national-conservativeUnion Nationale. This marked the beginning of theQuiet Revolution, which dramatically changed Quebec society. During the 1960s asocial-democratic faction within the party was especially prominent and the party was seen as being on thecentre-left.^[10] Under the slogansC'est l'temps qu'ça change (it's time for change) in 1960 andmaîtres chez nous (masters in our own house) in 1962, the Quebec government undertook several major initiatives, including: fullnationalization of the electricity industry through merger of 11 private companies with the government-ownedHydro-Québec — this major initiative of the government was led by the minister of natural resources,René Lévesque, in 1963, the creation of a publicpension plan, theRégie des rentes du Québec (QPP/RRQ), separate from theCanada Pension Plan that exists in all other provinces of Canada, and creation ofCaisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), the elimination of tuition fees for public elementary & secondary schools and creation of theMinistère de l'éducation du Québec, secularisation of schools and hospitals, creation of theSociété générale de financement (SGF), creation of the first incarnation of theOffice québécois de la langue française (OQLF, originally OLF), mandatory call for bids for all public works contracts above $25,000 (René Lévesque, 1960), creation ofObligations d'épargne du Québec (Quebec savings bonds) in 1963, right to strike in public service (1964), and the creation of an office in Paris, introduction of the Gérin-Lajoie doctrine (meaning that Quebec has rights to its own international presence matching its domestic range of jurisdiction).

Under Lesage, the Liberals developed aQuebec nationalist wing. In July 1964, the Quebec Liberal Federation led by Lesage formally disaffiliated from the federalLiberal Party of Canada, making the Quebec Liberal Party a distinct organization from its federal counterpart.^[11][12]

In October 1967, former cabinet minister René Lévesque proposed that the party endorse his plan forsovereignty-association. The proposal was rejected and, as a result, some Liberals, including Lévesque, left the Liberals to join thesovereignty movement, participating in the founding of theParti Québécois (PQ) under Lévesque's leadership.^[12]

Relations soured between the Quebec Liberal Party and the federal Liberal Party under Lesage, and worsened further underRobert Bourassa, who had a poor relationship with Canadian Prime MinisterPierre Trudeau.

First elected in 1970, Robert Bourassa instituted Bill 22 to introduceFrench as the official language in Quebec, and pushed Trudeau forconstitutional concessions.Reelected in 1973, his government was also embarrassed by several scandals. Bourassa resigned from the party's leadership after the loss of the1976 election to René Lévesque'sParti Québécois.

Bourassa was succeeded as Liberal leader byClaude Ryan, the former director of the respected Montreal newspaper,Le Devoir. Ryan led the successful federalist campaign in the1980 Quebec referendum on Quebec sovereignty, but then lost the1981 election. He resigned as Liberal leader some time later, paving the way for the return of Robert Bourassa.

When Bourassareturned as Premier in 1985, he persuaded the federalProgressive Conservative government ofBrian Mulroney to recognize Quebec as adistinct society, and sought greater powers for Quebec and the other provinces. This resulted in theMeech Lake Accord andCharlottetown Accord. Both of these proposals, however, were not ratified. While aQuebec nationalist, Bourassa remained an opponent of independence for Quebec.

Daniel Johnson Jr. succeeded Bourassa as Liberal leader and Premier of Quebec in 1994, but soon lost the1994 election to theParti Québécois underJacques Parizeau.

In 1993, after the failure of the Charlottetown Accord, many nationalist members of the Liberal party led byJean Allaire andMario Dumont, including many from the party's youth wing, left to form theAction démocratique du Québec (ADQ) because the Liberal Party dropped most of itsautonomist demands during the negotiation of the Charlottetown Accord. As in 1980, the QLP campaigned successfully for a "no" vote in the1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty.

Around the time of the1998 Quebec general election, the party was referred to as being on thecentre-right of the political spectrum.^[4]

The Liberals regained power in the2003 election. PremierJean Charest was a federal cabinet minister with the now-defunctProgressive Conservative Party, including a stint as Deputy Prime Minister and even serving as its leader for a time. The QLP government proposed a policy of reform of social programs and cuts to government spending and thecivil service, and established a controversial health system fee for all taxpayers.

It has also softened language policies. In response to aSupreme Court of Canada decision overruling a loophole-closing stopgap measure enacted by theBernard Landry government, the Liberals enacted Loi 104 which provides for English-language, unsubsidized private school students to transfer into the subsidized English-language system, thus receiving the right to attend English schools in Quebec for their siblings and all descendants, should the student demonstrate a bureaucratically definedparcours authentique within the English system. Meanwhile, theOffice québécois de la langue française (Quebec Board of the French Language) under the Liberal provincial government has also opted for a demand-side strategy for the enforcement of language laws, using a number of publicity campaigns, including stickers which merchants may voluntarily affix on their shop windows stating that French service may be obtained within, allowing for consumers to "choose" stores which will serve them in French.

The Liberal party suffered a major setback in the2007 election, which saw them reduced to aminority government, having lost francophone support to the surgingADQ.^[13] However, the party regained a majority in the2008 election, which saw the collapse of ADQ support and the return of the Parti Québécois as the main opposition party. Election turnout was the lowest in Quebec since theQuiet Revolution.

Since its most recent election, the Liberal government has faced a number of scandals, including historic losses at theCaisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the attribution of highly sought-after subsidized daycare spaces to Liberal Party donors, as well as allegations of systemic construction industry corruption which arose notably during the2009 Montreal municipal election. After public pressure, the Liberal government eventually called for a public commission of inquiry. Jean Charest's personal approval ratings have at times been lower than those of other premiers.^[14]

In 2012, the Liberal government announced it was going to raise university tuition from $2,168 to $3,793 in increments between 2012 and 2017. This move proved controversial, leading to asignificant portion of Quebec post-secondary students striking against the measures. In response to the discord the Quebec Liberal government introduced controversial emergency legislation viaBill 78 that restricted student protest activities, attacking students' right to strike and to demonstrate peacefully, and dealt with the administrative issues resulting from so many students missing classes.

After almost a decade in power, the Liberal government of Jean Charest was defeated in the2012 provincial election by theParti Québécois led byPauline Marois. Charest was also personally defeated in his constituency and resigned as party leader.^[15]

They came back into power during the2014 election underPhilippe Couillard.^[16] In the2018 election, they became the official opposition, losing power to theCoalition Avenir Quebec.^[17]

The first Black leader of the party,Dominique Anglade, led the party into the2022 election, coming fourth in vote share behind the CAQ,Quebec solidaire, and the PQ, but forming official opposition. The Liberals dropped to their lowest raw seat count since1956, their lowest percentage of seats won since1948 and their lowest share of the popular vote in their history. InJune 2025, former federal Cabinet ministerPablo Rodriguez was elected party leader. In November, he removed parliamentary leaderMarwah Rizqy from her post, citing that she fired her chief of staff without informing him beforehand. That same month, his leadership campaign was accused of allegedly financially rewarding voters for voting for him in the leadership race, accusations that Rodriguez denied. Amid these political crises, he resigned as party leader in December 2025, becoming the shortest-serving leader in QLP history.^[18] 2025 leadership election runner-upCharles Milliard was acclaimed to succeed Rodriguez on February 13, 2026.

• Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière (1867–1883) (premier 1878–1879)
• Honoré Mercier (1883–1892) (premier 1887–1891)
• Félix-Gabriel Marchand (1892–1900) (premier 1897–1900)
• Simon-Napoléon Parent (1900–1905) (premier 1900–1905)
• Lomer Gouin (1905–1920) (premier 1905–1920)
• Louis-Alexandre Taschereau (1920–1936) (premier 1920–1936)
• Adélard Godbout (1936–1949) (premier 1936, 1939–1944)
• George Carlyle Marler (interim) (1949–1950)
• Georges-Émile Lapalme (1950–1958)
• Jean Lesage (31 May 1958 – 17 January 1970) (premier 1960–1966)
• Robert Bourassa (17 January 1970 – 1976) (premier 1970–1976)
• Gérard D. Levesque (interim) (1976–1978)
• Claude Ryan (1978–1982)
• Gérard D. Levesque (interim) (1982–1983)
• Robert Bourassa (1983–1994) (premier 1985–1994)
• Daniel Johnson Jr. (1994–1998) (premier 1994)
• Monique Gagnon-Tremblay (interim) (1998)
• Jean Charest (1998–2012) (premier 2003–2012)
• Jean-Marc Fournier (interim) (2012–2013)
• Philippe Couillard (2013–2018) (premier 2014–2018)
• Pierre Arcand (interim) (2018–2020)
• Dominique Anglade (2020–2022)
• Marc Tanguay (interim) (2022–2025)
• Pablo Rodriguez (2025)
• Marc Tanguay (interim) (2025–present)
• Charles Milliard (2026–present)

Election	Leader	No. of candidates	No. of seats won	Change +/-	Standing	% of popular vote	Legislative role	Government
1867	Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière	40	12 / 65	12	2nd	35.4%	Official Opposition	Conservative majority
1871		38	19 / 65	7	2nd	39.4%	Official Opposition	Conservative majority
1875		46	19 / 65		2nd	38.8%	Official Opposition	Conservative majority
1878		59	31 / 65	12	1st	47.5%	Minority	Liberal minority
1881		46	14 / 65	17	2nd	39.0%	Official Opposition	Conservative majority
1886	Honoré Mercier	49	33 / 65	19	1st	39.5%	Majority	Conservatives attempted to continue as a minority for three months until they resigned and were replaced by a narrow Liberal majority.
1890		68	43 / 73	10	1st	44.5%	Majority	Initial Liberal Majority, became a minority due to defections and then replaced by Conservatives after the Liberal Premier was dismissed by the Lieutenant-Governor.
1892	Félix-Gabriel Marchand	62	21 / 73	22	2nd	43.7%	Official Opposition	Conservative majority
1897		78	51 / 74	30	1st	53.3%	Majority	Liberal majority
1900	Simon-Napoléon Parent	77	67 / 74	16	1st	53.1%	Majority	Liberal majority
1904		87	68 / 74	1	1st	55.5%	Majority	Liberal majority
1908	Lomer Gouin	76	57 / 74	11	1st	54.2%	Majority	Liberal majority
1912		83	62 / 81	5	1st	53.5%	Majority	Liberal majority
1916		85	75 / 81	13	1st	64.0%	Majority	Liberal majority
1919		99	74 / 81	1	1st	65.4%	Majority	Liberal majority
1923	Louis-Alexandre Taschereau	92	63 / 85	11	1st	52.9%	Majority	Liberal majority
1927		86	74 / 85	9	1st	60.3%	Majority	Liberal majority
1931		90	79 / 90	5	1st	54.9%	Majority	Liberal majority
1935		91	48 / 89	31	1st	46.8%	Majority	Liberal majority
1936	Adélard Godbout	89	14 / 90	34	2nd	40.0%	Official Opposition	Union Nationale majority
1939		87	70 / 86	56	1st	54.1%	Majority	Liberal majority
1944		91	37 / 91	33	2nd	39.4%	Official Opposition	Union Nationale majority
1948		93	8 / 92	29	2nd	36.2%	Official Opposition	Union Nationale majority
1952	Georges-Émile Lapalme	92	23 / 92	15	2nd	45.8%	Official Opposition	Union Nationale majority
1956		93	20 / 93	3	2nd	44.9%	Official Opposition	Union Nationale majority
1960	Jean Lesage	95	51 / 95	31	1st	51.3%	Majority	Liberal majority
1962		97	63 / 95	12	1st	56.40%	Majority	Liberal majority
1966		108	50 / 108	13	2nd	47.29%	Official Opposition	Union Nationale majority
1970	Robert Bourassa	108	72 / 108	22	1st	45.40%	Majority	Liberal majority
1973		110	102 / 110	30	1st	54.65%	Majority	Liberal majority
1976		110	26 / 110	76	2nd	33.77%	Official Opposition	Parti Québécois majority
1981	Claude Ryan	122	42 / 122	16	2nd	46.07%	Official Opposition	Parti Québécois majority
1985	Robert Bourassa	122	99 / 122	57	1st	55.99%	Majority	Liberal majority
1989		125	92 / 125	7	1st	49.95%	Majority	Liberal majority
1994	Daniel Johnson Jr.	125	47 / 125	45	2nd	44.40%	Official Opposition	Parti Québécois majority
1998	Jean Charest	125	48 / 125	1	2nd	43.55%	Official Opposition	Parti Québécois majority
2003		125	76 / 125	28	1st	45.99%	Majority	Liberal majority
2007		125	48 / 125	28	1st	33.07%	Minority	Liberal minority
2008		125	66 / 125	18	1st	42.06%	Majority	Liberal majority
2012		125	50 / 125	16	2nd	31.20%	Official Opposition	Parti Québécois minority
2014	Philippe Couillard	125	70 / 125	20	1st	41.50%	Majority	Liberal majority
2018		125	31 / 125	39	2nd	24.82%	Official Opposition	Coalition Avenir Québec majority
2022	Dominique Anglade	125	21 / 125	10	2nd	14.4%	Official Opposition	Coalition Avenir Québec majority

• Liberalism in Canada
• List of Quebec general elections
• List of Quebec premiers
• List of Quebec leaders of the Opposition
• Quebec Liberal Party leadership elections

• Parti libéral du Québec official website(in English)
• National Assembly historical information(in French)
• Liberal Party Election Performances(in French)
• EQUITAS Rule of Law Commission - Quebec File,^{[permanent dead link]} an independent supervising body providing forensic analysis of QLP form of governance

• Quebec Liberal Party
• 1867 establishments in Quebec
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• Liberal conservatism
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