MontrealThe Quebec Liberal Party is facing growing tensions this week after Pablo Rodriguez suspended parliamentary leader Marwah Rizqy from the caucus. He now finds himself at the centre of a controversy involving party members who allegedly paid to vote for him in the last leadership race.Liberal, CAQ MNAs deny any involvementHénia Ould-Hammou · CBC News · Posted: Nov 19, 2025 11:35 AM EST | Last Updated: 3 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Pablo Rodriguez, leader of the Quebec Liberal Party. (Ivanoh Demers/Radio-Canada)The Quebec Liberal Party continues to be shaken by turmoil, with leader Pablo Rodriguez ordering an investigation into alleged text messages revealed by the Journal de Montréal that suggest party members were financially rewarded for voting for him in the last leadership race.Speaking to journalists at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, Rodriguez said he found out about the alleged text messages for the first time this morning, upon reading the Journal article.”We have nothing to hide, I have nothing to hide,” Rodriguez told reporters.”We don’t even know if these text messages are real or not … If someone has done something wrong, it is obvious that there will be extremely serious consequences.” In a written statement earlier this morning, Rodriguez told the media he asked the president of the party to commission an external and “completely” independent firm to conduct a full investigation, analyze the facts and establish the necessary conclusions. WATCH | Rodriguez orders independent investigation:Quebec Liberal leader faces questions as alleged texts say members were paid to vote for himAlleged text messages reported by the Journal de Montréal suggest Quebec Liberal Party members may have been offered money to vote for leader Pablo Rodriguez in the party’s most recent leadership race. Rodriguez says he only became aware of the messages when the article was released and has ordered an independent investigation into their authenticity and any potential wrongdoing.Party president Rafael Primeau-Ferraro, also present at the news conference, said that neither he nor any member of the electoral committee had been informed of the alleged text messages.The Journal de Montréal said it consulted messages exchanged [this] spring between “two individuals who were actively working to elect Mr. Rodriguez as leader.”The alleged text messages refer to the sale of membership cards and money spent to get people to vote for Rodriguez.Unrest inside the partyLiberal MNA for Chomedey Sona Lakhoyan Olivier took to social media Wednesday morning to defend herself after she said her name was mentioned in connection with the allegations. “I categorically deny being the person involved in these exchanges, which may have been falsified in whole or in part and whose authenticity has never been proven by any independent source,” she wrote on X. Alice Abou-Khalil, CAQ MNA for Fabre, also justified herself, saying her name was brought up on 98.5, a French-language radio station. “I want to be clear: I have absolutely nothing to do with this story. The text messages revealed in the Journal de Montréal article did not come from me,” she wrote on Facebook Wednesday. Abou-Khalil added that she would co-operate “fully with any investigation.”The Quebec Liberal Party is facing growing tensions this week after Rodriguez suspended parliamentary leader Marwah Rizqy, pictured here, from caucus. Rodriguez now finds himself at the centre of a controversy involving an alleged vote-for-money scheme. (Sylvain Roy Roussel/CBC)Asked why the Liberal MNA targeted by the allegations won’t be suspended during the investigation, Rodriguez argued that “we live in a state governed by the rule of law, where the presumption of innocence exists” and that text messages should not be published without indicating who they’re from.”I have made enormous sacrifices, as has my family, with conviction, courage, determination and integrity. I will never let anyone question my integrity,” Rodriguez said.The controversy comes after Marwah Rizqy’s suspension from the Liberal caucus on Tuesday. Rizqy was removed from her duties as parliamentary leader by Rodriguez after a “breach of trust,” stated the Quebec Liberal Party in a statement. It was confirmed by Rodriguez that the “breach of trust” relates to Rizqy, parliamentary leader since June, firing her chief of staff, Geneviève Hinse, and replacing her without consulting him beforehand.In a statement to Radio-Canada Wednesday morning, Hinse explained that her dismissal came as an “immense surprise.””Apart from a short letter, I have not, to this day, received any explanation from [Rizqy], either verbally or in writing, as to what justified such a dismissal,” wrote Hinse.”I am obviously hurt by this situation, especially since I am convinced that there was no justification for my dismissal. I intend to defend myself vigorously and am evaluating all the options available to me in order to set the record straight.” On Wednesday afternoon, Rodriguez told reporters he still does not know the reasons why Hinse was dismissed.ABOUT THE AUTHORHénia Ould-Hammou is a journalist with CBC Montreal. She previously completed an internship with La Presse after graduating from McGill University with a double major in political science and psychology. Hénia is interested in international and societal issues, community stories, soccer, politics and rap. Send her an email at henia.ould-hammou@cbc.ca With files from Holly Cabrera and Radio-Canada
‘We have nothing to hide’: Quebec Liberal Party leader speaks on alleged vote-for-cash scheme
