Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard won’t reinstate Marwah Rizqy in party caucus

Newly acclaimed Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard says he won’t reinstate Marwah Rizqy in his party’s caucus.

Rizqy was booted from caucus in the fall by the party’s former leader, Pablo Rodriguez, who said she had not consulted him before firing her chief of staff.

Her expulsion kicked off a series of controversies that ended with Rodriguez resigning in December. Rizqy’s former chief of staff, Geneviève Hinse, later launched a $500,000 wrongful dismissal case against her.

On Wednesday, Milliard said his decision is tied to “all the ongoing proceedings” and the fact he does not yet have all the information surrounding events of the past several months.

“I want to be very clear: I told her that this is in no way a punishment against her,” he said, adding that his “rigorous and methodical” approach requires a full review of the situation.

Milliard, a member of Quebec’s order of pharmacists, had come in second place to Rodriguez in the June 2025 leadership race. And as his candidacy was the only one accepted by the party to replace Rodriguez, the Liberals acclaimed him leader last week.

He said he met with Rizqy twice on Wednesday — once in the morning and again shortly before holding a news conference to announced his decision. Milliard did not elaborate on the content of their conversations. “Ms. Rizqy is currently the subject of a lawsuit, so obviously she is limited in her comments,” he said.

Milliard confirmed that Rizqy’s spouse, Liberal member of the legislature Gregory Kelley, will remain in caucus. Kelley had previously said he hoped his wife would be reinstated.

Following Rizqy’s dismissal, a series of events triggered a crisis within the Liberals. Shortly after she was kicked out, Le Journal de Montréal published text messages suggesting some party members who had voted for Rodriguez in the leadership race could have received cash rewards. A separate report from the newspaper alleged that around 20 donors to Rodriguez’s leadership campaign received envelopes containing $500 in cash to reimburse their donations during a fundraising event in April.

The Canadian Press has not independently verified the allegations in those media reports.

The province’s anti-corruption unit has opened an investigation into the fundraising.

Last week, a retired Quebec Superior Court judge, hired by the party to investigate the allegations, released his findings saying he was not able to corroborate the media reports. The review also noted there was nothing to suggest Rodriguez was aware of alleged fundraising irregularities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2026.

The Canadian Press