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Charles Milliard

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Charles Milliard
Milliard in 2024
Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 13, 2026
PresidentRafael Primeau Ferraro
Preceded byMarc Tanguay (interim)
President of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec
In office
January 13, 2020[1] – June 11, 2024
Preceded byStéphane Forget
Succeeded byClaude Breton (interim)[2]
Personal details
Born1979 (age 46–47)
Lévis, Quebec, Canada
PartyQuebec Liberal
Other political
affiliations
Progressive Conservative (1997–2000)
Domestic partner
Simon Dessureault Dallaire (2022-)
Alma materUniversité Laval
ProfessionPharmacist, professor

Charles Milliard (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁl(ə) miljaʁ]; born September 10, 1979) is a Canadian politician, businessman, and pharmacist who has served as the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party since 2026.[3] He was the president of the Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce [fr] (FCCQ) from 2020 to 2024.[4]

Early life and education

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Charles Milliard was born in Lévis in the Chaudière-Appalaches region to a carpenter-joiner father and a French teacher mother, who later became a high school principal, both from Kamouraska in the Bas-Saint-Laurent.[5][6] He has a brother, who is a pharmacist in the Mauricie region.[6] His aunt Louise Chamberland is the mayor of Saint-Pacôme, Quebec, which is also located in Kamouraska.[6]

Milliard holds a bachelor's degree in pharmacy and a certificate in economics from Université Laval, obtained in 2002.[7] He was the president of the Canadian Pharmacy Students' Association.[6] He continued his studies, obtaining a postgraduate certificate in management in 2005 and completed an master of business administration at HEC Montréal in 2007.[7]

Professional career

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From 2003 until 2016, Milliard held several positions within Uniprix, a chain of drugstores, before becoming its executive vice-president from 2013 to 2017.[3][7][8] He was seen on the show Deux filles le matin, presenting a segment on medications.[9]

Between 2017 and 2019, he held various positions, including vice president of the public relations firm National Public Relations. He was then responsible for provincial, national and international mandates related to the health sector.[3][7] In 2019, Milliard became président-directeur général of the Fédération des Chambres de commerce du Québec [fr] (FCCQ) before announcing his resignation in June 2024.[10]

Millard was also on the board of directors of Festival de Lanaudière and Festival TransAmériques.[9] As chair of the Lanaudière Festival, he model it after the Stratford Festival by enhancing the visitor experience, developed agritourism, and improved hospitality infrastructure.[11]

Following the 2025 leadership campaign, Milliard accepted a position at Bishop's University's Williams School of Business for the fall 2025 term.[12]

Political career

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When Milliard was eighteen, he started to become involved with the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ).[13] From 1997 to 2000, he was also involved with the Progressive Conservatives Youth Federation.[14] In 2024, Milliard was approached by the Liberal Party of Canada to be their candidate in the 2024 LaSalle–Émard–Verdun federal by-election.[15] He revealed that he considered it but ultimately declined to do so in order to focus on the upcoming QLP leadership race.[15]

In 2024, Milliard declared his candidacy for the 2025 Quebec Liberal Party leadership election on LinkedIn.[16][17] He stood against former federal Minister of Transport Pablo Rodriguez, who was the front runner, Marc Bélanger, Karl Blackburn and Mario Roy.[18] Milliard ran on generational renewal and focused his platform on the issues of the economy, education,[19] health and transportation.[20] He stated that political vision around engagement should be inspirational not hostile.[21] Milliard was defeated by Rodriguez with a narrow margin of roughly 52% to 48% in the second round.[22][18]

After Rodriguez's resignation in December 2025, Milliard declared his candidacy for the party's 2026 leadership election in January.[23] At his official campaign launch, Millard revealed his five priorities were public services, the economy, housing, regions and culture.[23] He was acclaimed as party leader on February 13, 2026, after no other candidates qualified to be on the ballot.[24]

Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party

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In his first speech since being acclaimed as leader of the party, Milliard established his five priorities which were the economy, public services, access to housing, the regions and culture.[25] On February 28th, Milliard announced that he will seek to be elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the Estrie riding of Orford.[26][27]

Views

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Milliard stated that he supports federalism but considered himself a Quebec nationalist in the vein of former Quebec premier Robert Bourassa.[28][29] He also mentioned that his politics would be modelled after a version of the defunct Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.[14][13]

Economy

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During the 2025 leadership race, Milliard advocated for economic renewal through targeted support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by reducing SME tax rate from 11.5% to 10%.[30] He also opposed raising personal taxes.[31] Milliard advocated for the dismantlement of interprovincial and international trade barriers.[30] For youth employment, he supported mandatory paid internships for students.[30] For the budget deficit, Milliard supports balancing the budget in five years but opposed the austerity implemented by the government of Philippe Couillard by stating that he would not cut health services, education, and culture.[31]

In 2026, Milliard wanted to focus on regional development and create new partnerships with municipalities.[23] He also advocated for new wealth generation methods to pay for Quebec's social safety net and was critical of Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) support for large foreign companies over SME.[32] During an speech made at the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, Milliard advocated for renovate and modernize Montreal metro, restore Quebec reputation as an economic leader by creating an business environment towards economic projects and reduce subsidies to large corporations.[33]

Social issues

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During the 2025 leadership race, Milliard stated that he does not consider himself as part of the social right.[30] He expressed concerns about the shift against minorities of sexual, gender, religious and cultural.[30] Milliard believed that government must be a bulwark against all types of marginalization.[30] He supported moving the Office for the Fight Against Homophobia and Transphobia from the Ministry for the Status of Women to Ministry of Justice, supported the prevention and education of HIV and was critical of the anti-LGBTQ+ movement in the United States of America.[30] On the legal challenge to Bill 21 in the Supreme Court of Canada, Milliard stated that Quebec is a secular state, but that it is necessary to protect everyone's rights.[34]

Federalism and Nationalism

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During the 2025 leadership race, Milliard stressed the importance of unity between Quebec and Canada due to the US Canada Trade War.[35] He also stated that there should be an interest for Canada to work together.[35]

In 2026, Milliard stated that he would model the Quebec-federal government relationship after Robert Bourassa by arguing that Bourassa had the ability to create opportunity which allowed the relationship to work.[13] Milliard considered himself as an asymmetrical federalist and that his version of nationalism does not only mean protecting and promoting French but rights and freedoms of every Quebecer.[25] He advocated for decentralization in Quebec and the empowerment of its municipalities.[25] Milliard wants to strengthen the province’s influence within Canada and advocated to form an alliance with Ontario that is modeled after the western provinces.[36]

Linguistic rights and culture

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During the 2025 leadership race, Milliard emphasized that the party should reestablish its relationship with the anglophone community by arguing that the party took them for granted by not viewing the community as part of Quebec identity.[37] He rejected the CAQ premise that being against Bill 96, which he believes should be modified, means being against the promotion and protection of French in Quebec.[37] He found the clause requiring immigrants to only communicate in French six months after their arrival impossible to implement and argued that the bill creates burdens for small and medium-sized businesses.[37] During the 2026 leadership race, Milliard believed that French is threatened in Quebec and that it should be protected but added that those who wanted to learn should be supported. [34] He believed that immigrants are willing to subscribe but the government is not supporting them.[34] During an speech made at the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, he saw French as gateway to other markets not a hindrance to economic development.[38]

In 2023, as head of the federation, Milliard viewed culture as a tool to drive regional economic development.[39] In 2026, he also views it as a tool to integrate immigrants into Quebec society.[23] Milliard stressed the importance of protecting cultural institutions and the importance of promoting culture as a way to protect Quebec.[40] He warned that people consumed culture through international digital platforms but expressed support for developing polices that would allow Quebec artists to become popular internationally, like Céline Dion.[40]

Public services

[edit]

Healthcare

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During the 2025 leadership race, Milliard emphasized that the healthcare system should be based on prevention, innovation, and efficiency.[30] He has suggested legislation that would match their health-care workers salary with their Ontario counterparts, along with a two-hundred-million-dollar investment into regional health-care infrastructure and workforce retention.[30] Milliard also supported the creation of a public telemedicine clinic accessible every day of the week, increased the number of college and university health programs, promoted family medicine in every region, and proposed aligning private healthcare costs with a public network.[41] He has suggested modifying the list of acts reserved for different professions, to increase the use of nurses, pharmacists, psychologists and physiotherapists. [41]

In his announcement speech during the 2026 race, Milliard emphasized the need to improve home care and frontline services and create a public telemedicine service.[23]

Education

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During the 2025 leadership race, Milliard argued that modernizing the curriculum can reduce dropout rates, particularly among young males.[30] He has proposed adjusting how Quebec history is taught so that the history of minority groups in the province are better reflected.[42] In addition, he proposed the creation of a professional order for teachers to receive standardized training.[30] In 2026, he stated that he would like to see a national conference on education which would review the system from preschool to university.[23][25] During an speech made at the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, he advocated for investing in college and university research institutions, particularly in the regions.[43]

Environment and housing

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In January 2022, as head of the federation, Milliard supported the fight against urban sprawl.[44][9] He argued it would be an important issue in the future.[44] In July 2023, Milliard took out an op-ed in La Presse advocating two simultaneous industrial revolutions to boost productivity and decarbonize the economy in order to adapt to climate change.[45] After being acclaimed as the leader of the party, he stated that he would aim to make Quebec a leader in green innovation and sustainable mobility.[25]

In 2026, Milliard supported the removal of certain regulations in order to improve housing construction and build 100,000 homes per year in Quebec.[23] He added that this goal includes social and affordable housing.[25]

Immigration and integration

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During his time, as head of the federation, Milliard did not see immigration as the only solution to the labour shortage in Quebec.[6] He also stressed that immigration thresholds were not as important to the debate as the capacity to accommodate them through medical and educational services, French language resources, and housing in each region.[6] In 2026, Milliard was critical of the CAQ and the Parti Québécois for creating a negative discord surrounding immigrants, arguing that the negativity was a distraction that got Quebec into its current situation and advocating a kinder tone towards immigrants.[34]

During the 2025 leadership race, Milliard proposed passing a new bill stating that interculturalism should be the official integration model in Quebec.[42] He was critical of Bill 84 argued that it supported assimilation, which he opposed, and found the bill too performative.[42] During an speech made at the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, he advocated repairing Quebec's reputation on immigration by being inclusive through teaching French in exchange for a commitment to contribute to the economy and embrace the local culture.[38]

Personal life

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Milliard is bilingual.[46] During his time with the FCCQ, he lived in Montreal but moved to North Hatley, Quebec in 2024.[6] Milliard is openly gay and has been living with his partner, Simon Dessureault Dallaire, since 2022.[9][14][8]

References

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  1. ↑ "Charles Milliard est nommé président-directeur général de la FCCQ - FCCQ". www.fccq.ca.
  2. ↑ "Claude Breton nommé président-directeur général par intérim". www.fccq.ca.
  3. 1 2 3 Vallières, Martin (May 17, 2024). "Dix questions à… Charles Milliard: Être le motivateur en chef". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  4. ↑ "La course à la direction du PLQ est officiellement lancée". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). January 13, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  5. ↑ Benessaieh, Karim (January 13, 2025). "Direction du PLQ: Bachand avec Milliard, Beauchemin appuie Rodriguez". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Paradis, Maxime (August 17, 2023). "Charles Milliard, un homme de terrain". Journal Le Placoteux (in French). Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Nomination de Charles Milliard – Note biographique - Secrétariat aux emplois supérieurs". Secrétariat aux emplois supérieurs (in Canadian French). May 31, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Lévesque, Catherine (March 25, 2026). "Meet Charles Milliard, the man who could spare Canada a third Quebec referendum". National Post.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Porter, Isabelle (January 10, 2026). "Qui est Charles Milliard, aspirant chef du PLQ?". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Fédération des Chambres de commerce du Québec : Charles Milliard quitte son poste". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). June 12, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  11. ↑ Décarie, Jean-Philippe (February 7, 2023). "Charles Milliard, PDG de la Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec: La culture comme outil de développement économique régional". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Bishop's University Welcomes Charles Milliard as Executive in Residence - Bishop's University".
  13. 1 2 3 Morris, Erika (January 8, 2026). "Quebec Liberal leadership hopeful wants to bring back to 'bread and butter' issues". CTVNews. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
  14. 1 2 3 Larochelle, Samuel (February 26, 2025). "Charles Milliard, le « renouveau enraciné » du PLQ". Fugues (in Canadian French). Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  15. 1 2 Laberge, Thomas (August 13, 2024). "Le PLC avait courtisé Charles Milliard, qui a « considéré » puis « refusé »". Le Devoir (in Canadian French). Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  16. ↑ Leclerc, Marc-André (January 15, 2025). "Charles Milliard remporte la première manche". Le Journal de Québec (in Canadian French). Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Charles Milliard se lance dans la course à la direction du PLQ". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). August 9, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  18. 1 2 "New Quebec Liberal Leader Pablo Rodriguez says he'll run for seat in 2026 election". Times Colonist. June 16, 2025. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  19. ↑ Larin, Vincent (October 21, 2024). "Course à la direction du PLQ: Charles Milliard réclame un ordre des enseignants". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  20. ↑ Carmichael, Simon (September 30, 2024). "Charles Milliard veut une discussion sur le troisième lien". Le Soleil (in Canadian French). Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Charles Milliard on leadership, economy, and the fight against misinformation". www.westquebecpost.com. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Pablo Rodriguez, chef du PLQ | «Charles Milliard a été la grande révélation de cette campagne»". 98.5 Montréal (in Canadian French). June 16, 2025. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "«L'imputabilité sera au cœur de mon leadership»: Charles Milliard lance sa campagne pour la chefferie du PLQ". TVA Nouvelles. Agence QMI. January 17, 2026. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Deadline today to apply for Quebec Liberal leadership, Charles Milliard favoured". Toronto Star. The Canadian Press. February 13, 2026. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chouinard, Tommy (February 15, 2026). "Rassemblement national du PLQ: « Intégrité », mot d'ordre de Charles Milliard". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  26. ↑ https://montrealgazette.com/news/provincial_politics/charles-milliard-acclaimed-leader-of-quebec-liberals
  27. ↑ "Charles Milliard se présente dans la circonscription d'Orford". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). February 28, 2026. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  28. ↑ https://www.journaldequebec.com/2026/01/13/charles-milliard-aura-du-mal-a-etre-un-bourassa-contemporain
  29. ↑ Pratte, Andre (January 21, 2026). "Pratte: Does Legault's departure mean goodbye to his 'third way' too?".
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Charles Milliard on leadership, economy, and the fight against misinformation". Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  31. 1 2 Pagano, Pamela (March 12, 2025). "Charles Milliard: balanced budget and tax cuts for SMEs". CityNews Montreal. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  32. ↑ "« Je ramène un certain nationalisme [au PLQ] », affirme Charles Milliard". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). March 1, 2026. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  33. ↑ Thériault, William (May 1, 2026). "Chambre de commerce de Montréal: Le Québec redeviendra un « leader commercial », promet Charles Milliard". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  34. 1 2 3 4 "Milliard veut ramener de la « bienveillance » dans le discours politique sur l'immigration". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). January 7, 2026. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  35. 1 2 "The CAQ is 'not helping Canada work better' | The Corner Booth". montrealgazette. Archived from the original on January 3, 2026. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  36. ↑ Press, The Canadian (July 29, 2026). "Charles Milliard sets out economic vision in four commitments". CTVNews. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  37. 1 2 3 "'Taken for granted': Quebec Liberals need to reconnect with anglos, says leadership candidate Charles Milliard". montrealgazette. Archived from the original on January 4, 2026. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  38. 1 2 Thériault, William (May 1, 2026). "Chambre de commerce de Montréal: Le Québec redeviendra un « leader commercial », promet Charles Milliard". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  39. ↑ Décarie, Jean-Philippe (February 7, 2023). "Charles Milliard, PDG de la Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec: La culture comme outil de développement économique régional". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  40. 1 2 Pilon-Larose, Hugo; Plante-Fréchette, Edouard (February 15, 2026). "Dossier: Charles Milliard, nouveau chef du PLQ | Sortir de la tempête (2 articles)". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  41. 1 2 Barile, Jessica (May 20, 2025). "PLQ: Charles Milliard proposes telemedicine 7 days a week". CityNews Montreal. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  42. 1 2 3 Larin, Vincent (May 10, 2025). "Course à la direction du PLQ: Milliard propose une loi sur l'interculturalisme". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  43. ↑ Thériault, William (May 1, 2026). "Chambre de commerce de Montréal: Le Québec redeviendra un « leader commercial », promet Charles Milliard". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  44. 1 2 Porter, Isabelle (January 24, 2022). "Urban sprawl: at what cost?".
  45. ↑ Milliard, Charles (July 10, 2023). "Réflexions économiques sous le parasol". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  46. ↑ Authier, Philip (April 1, 2025). "'Taken for granted': Quebec Liberals need to reconnect with anglos, says leadership candidate Charles Milliard".
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