Quebec Liberals want media to release names in anonymous text-message exchanges

QUÉBEC – Quebec Liberal Leader Pablo Rodriguez says his party will send a formal legal notice to the Journal de Montréal, after the news outlet published a report alleging some party members were paid to vote for him in his leadership campaign.

The report published earlier this week alleges two people who “actively worked” to elect Rodriguez as Liberal leader in June had exchanged text messages suggesting some members would receive cash rewards in exchange for their votes. The Journal did not identify the people who had allegedly sent the text messages and The Canadian Press has not verified whether the messages are authentic.

On Friday, Rodriguez said he wanted to know the names and phone numbers associated with the texts, as well as details on how the Journal de Montréal had verified their authenticity.

“We are not asking for the sources to be revealed,” he told reporters in Montreal after a meeting with his caucus. It wasn’t clear, however, whether the information Rodriguez was asking for would reveal those who leaked the messages.

The editor of the Journal de Montréal, Dany Doucet, responded to Rodriguez later on Friday. The statements by the Liberal leader “directly undermine the integrity of the Journal and the professionalism of its teams,” Doucet said in a news article on the Journal’s website, adding that the media outlet fully stands by the report produced by its investigative bureau.

“Contributing to journalistic independence, the protection of sources is a fundamental principle in the practice of our profession, one that is well protected under the rule of law, and we intend to defend it vigorously, in the public interest.”

Cogeco, another media outlet, reported Wednesday that the text messages were between Liberal MNA Sona Lakhoyan Olivier and Coalition Avenir Québec MNA Alice Abou-Khalil. Both have denied the claims, and Rodriguez said Lakhoyan Olivier would also send formal notice to Cogeco.

The former federal cabinet minister has mandated an external firm to investigate the allegations.

Rodriguez was also on the defensive about another controversy in his party, involving Marwah Rizqy, whom he had suspended earlier this week from caucus, claiming she had fired the chief of staff of the official Opposition without consulting him.

Rizqy and the former staffer, Geneviève Hinse, have reportedly exchanged legal letters and the matter is likely heading to the courts.

Media outlet 98.5 Montréal says Rizqy’s legal letter to Hinse says the staffer was dismissed because of significant ethical breaches as well as repeated acts of insubordination. The Canadian Press has not confirmed the content of the letter. 

Hinse has said that nothing justifies her dismissal and that Rizqy never explained the decision to fire her.

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. It’s unclear whether there is any connection between Hinse’s dismissal and the allegations about Rodriguez’s leadership campaign. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2025.