Quebec Premier François Legault says his Coalition Avenir Québec party will no longer accept donations, amid mounting allegations that mayors were pushed to pay for access to cabinet ministers.
Instead, Legault said Thursday his party will rely exclusively on government funding, and he called on other parties to do the same, warning he may change Quebec’s party financing rules if the opposition doesn’t follow his lead.
The announcement comes after members of the CAQ were accused of selling access to ministers by encouraging mayors around the province to pay $100 — the maximum individual donations permitted in Quebec — to attend party fundraising events. The Canadian Press reported earlier this week that almost half of Quebec’s mayors have contributed almost $100,000 to the CAQ’s coffers since the 2021 municipal election.
“I want to be very clear, my (members of the legislature) didn’t do anything wrong, but it’s the perception, it’s the way people see that,” Legault told reporters in Quebec City.
“They think that because a minister is at a cocktail (party) that there’s expectations to give a contract in exchange. It never happened, but it’s important, the image of integrity, at least for me.”
Legault’s change of heart on political financing, however, would seriously advantage his party over the others if they follow suit. Due to Quebec’s political financing system, which offers parties yearly “allowances” based on their share of the vote in the most recent general election, the CAQ receives millions more per year in taxpayer money than the opposition does.
The Parti Québécois, for instance, which is leading in the polls, has long depended more than the CAQ on fundraising and receives a smaller allowance than the governing party. In the 2022 general election year, the PQ raised nearly $1.6 million from donors — more than any other provincial party in Quebec — and received an allowance of $2.8 million; the CAQ raised nearly $1.4 million that year, and received an allowance of almost $6.4 million.
The amount of public subsidies will change this year, based on the October 2022 vote, during which the CAQ received nearly 41 per cent of ballots cast, with the four other main parties between 12.9 per cent and 15.4 per cent.
Legault said he wants to have discussions with the other parties about how the system would work without donations, adding that there would have to be exceptions for new parties that don’t have access to government funding.
The PQ was quick on Thursday to reject Legault’s call to reject donations, with leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon describing the premier’s decision as an act of panic.
“The solution to the CAQ’s ethical failings isn’t to end citizen donations of up to $100, it’s to respect the rules,” he wrote in a post on the X platform, formerly Twitter, adding that Legault should stop “monetizing access to ministers and not punish citizens by preventing them from participating in our democratic life.”
The other two parties with seats in the legislature — the Liberals and Québec solidaire — didn’t join Legault either in rejecting donations.
Quebec has some of the most strict election financing laws in the country, brought in after the Charbonneau Commission, which investigated corruption in the construction industry and the illegal financing of political parties. The commission uncovered links between donations to political parties and the awarding of contracts and government subsidies.
Only individuals — not companies or unions — can donate to political parties in Quebec, and those donations are capped at $100 a year, with an extra $100 allowed during elections.
— With files from The Canadian Press’ Jacob Serebrin