MAGOG, QC. — As soon as he stepped inside the café, Charles Milliard began turning heads.
Among those enjoying their coffee who spotted the new Quebec Liberal Party leader as he made his way through Café Hubert Saint-Jean, located in the province’s Eastern Townships, was Normand Duval.
“It’s always fun at the beginning,” the former RCMP officer turned spiritual healer, teased.
“It’s easier at the beginning than near the end,” quipped Milliard.
“Just like marriage,” said Duval, without skipping a beat.
“I’ll remember that one!” Milliard added, after letting out a laugh.
With seven months to go before Quebec elects its next government and after only a little more than a month on the job, Milliard knows he has his work cut out for him.
Not only must Milliard rebuild the party that was rocked by vote-buying allegations that forced his predecessor to resign, he does so with the weight of a possible referendum on his shoulders.
As Milliard enters Alessa Trattoria, an Italian restaurant across the street from the café, he lets out that is a spot where he enjoys dining with former Quebec Premier Daniel Johnson.
“The last leader of the “No” campaign,” Milliard remarks.
Between two bites of penne alla vodka, the 46-year-old explains he is arriving at the start of the playoffs.
“We’re in the first period of the first game. There might be seven games,” he said.
“But so far, so good.”
Milliard has already said he is ready to lead the “No” campaign if Parti Québécois Leader St-Pierre Plamondon, whose party has dominated public opinion polls for the past two years, were to call for a third referendum, which he has vowed to do.
Historically, that role has fallen to the leader of the Quebec Liberals as the clear federalist option in the province.
Milliard believes the timing is right for his party.
Since he stepped into the picture, some provincial Liberal sources are openly wondering if political history from the last federal election could repeat itself in Quebec.
That race that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s two-year lead over the Liberals swallowed up after Prime Minister Mark Carney took over from his deeply unpopular predecessor, former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Milliard says he understands the comparison but says they are two very different people.
“I come from the health sector. I have also been active in this party for 28 years,” he said. “So, our stories are not exactly the same.” He added that the political situation in Quebec is different, since voters are vying for a change of party after eight years of a CAQ government.
On a personal level, Milliard is a gay man who lives with his partner Simon Dessureault Dallaire, while Carney is married to his wife Diana Fox Carney and they have four children.
Milliard was born and raised in Lévis, on the south shore of Quebec City. His father worked for Davie Shipyards and his mother was a French teacher in a public school. Both don’t speak a word of English, so Milliard learned it in school like many young Quebecers.
Milliard and his brother Louis both studied to become pharmacists. Charles Milliard went on to work for Uniprix — first, as a substitute pharmacist, then quickly climbing the corporate ladder until becoming executive vice president at 33 years old.
At 36, he suddenly quit and went on to work two years for public relations firm NATIONAL, which he said opened him to the business community in Montreal, where he built an important business network during that time.
Then came a new — and unexpected — opportunity for Milliard. Quebec’s Federation of Chambers of Commerce was searching for a new CEO, and they took a chance on him.
“No one would have bet five dollars that I would’ve gotten the job,” he said, explaining that former ministers were among the contenders for the position.
Milliard is no stranger to politics. In 1998, he joined the young Progressive Conservatives before Jean Charest would leave to lead the Quebec Liberals. But Milliard said he didn’t really see himself in the new Conservative Party of Canada led by Stephen Harper.
“I was a little bit like Scott Brison,” joked Milliard.
The difference is that it was always clear for him that he saw himself in provincial politics. In fact, he has been involved in the Quebec Liberals since a very young age, going as far as writing letters to his friends when he was younger to convince them to vote Liberal.
Milliard said he was heavily courted to run for Trudeau in the Montreal byelection in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun in 2024. He said he became Mélanie Joly and Soraya Martinez Ferrada’s “obsession” at the time. Trudeau also called him directly to try to sway him.
But Milliard said he opted for a “polite” 48 hours to turn them down. “I wasn’t interested.”
Milliard, who in 2024 had already resigned from his job at Quebec’s Federation of Chambers of Commerce, had his eyes on the job of leader of the Quebec Liberal Party.
Milliard ultimately lost his first leadership race in June 2025, ending up a close second.
Former federal Liberal cabinet minister Pablo Rodriguez won with 52.3 per cent in the second round of votes, while Milliard followed closely behind with 47.7 per cent.
After he lost the leadership, Milliard took a job at Bishop’s University’s Williams School of Business in Sherbrooke. Still unsure if he would run for office, he said he embarked on a 12-week online course about public policy analysis at the London School of Economics.
Those online classes started in mid-November, just as Rodriguez was targeted by allegations of vote-buying in his leadership race. Rodriguez ultimately resigned in mid-December after Quebec’s anti-corruption police started investigating the matter.
Milliard ended his online course the week that he was acclaimed leader in mid-February.
The change in Liberal leadership had an immediate impact in the polls. The last Léger numbers published in early March showed the PQ and Liberals in a statistical tie in Quebec with 31 and 30 per cent of voting intentions, respectively.
At the same time, the firm found that support for sovereignty is at a 30-year low.
If a referendum were held today, numbers showed that 71 per cent of Quebecers would vote “no” and only 29 per cent would vote “yes” — the lowest it’s been since 1995.
Milliard said he is encouraged by the early reactions from people on the ground in his new role as leader.
He recalled how people tell him how nice it is to see politicians like him who are “in a good mood” — as opposed to outgoing Quebec Premier François Legault and St-Pierre Plamondon.
Indeed, Milliard often has a smile on his face. He jokes that he should maybe smile less.
But with everything going on in the world, he believes people want to see more positive demeanours from their politicians.
Milliard said he has great respect for his PQ opponent. He called St-Pierre Plamondon “very intelligent” and said he is looking forward to debating with him in the upcoming election.
“I think a duel between me and him is good for Quebec,” he said.
Milliard said he is inspired by the mutual respect that existed between former Quebec Premier and Liberal leader Robert Bourassa and former PQ leader Jacques Parizeau in the late 80s and early 90s. Milliard calls it “respect in adversity” and hopes to emulate that.
In fact, a picture showing a shared moment between Bourassa and Parizeau hangs in the living room of Milliard’s North Hatley home. It is a photo he bought while he was still at Uniprix, long before he even considered running for political office.
Milliard said there will always be a sovereigntist movement in Quebec.
“I don’t see how we would go from 29 per cent to zero,” he said, referring to the latest numbers in support of Quebec separation. “And we don’t need to get to zero. We just need that the two sides, if we are to be consulted, be clear. Quebecers will decide. That’s it.”
Duval, who was at the café earlier, said he has voted for the PQ all his life.
Not this time. Duval said he will be voting Liberal — for Milliard.
National Post
calevesque@postmedia.com
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here.
