Quebec Liberal leader slams decision to mail voter guides in French only in letter to premier
Charles Milliard says the move is a step backwards that could generate resentment
The leader of Quebec’s Liberal Party is taking aim at Premier Christine Fréchette’s refusal to mail voter information documents in English ahead of the Oct. 5 provincial election.
“This is a decision that breaks with established tradition and unacceptably compromises the electoral participation of a portion of the population,” Charles Milliard wrote in a letter to Fréchette that he shared on X.
He said the government’s decision not to reverse course constitutes “an unjustifiable attack on the electoral rights of English-speaking Quebecers" and contradicts Fréchette's promise to establish a different tone in her party's relationship with the province's English-speaking community.
The open letter comes after Élections Québec announced on Tuesday it would be mailing voter information documents only in French to comply with the French Language Charter, also known as Bill 96. The law makes French the sole language of communication for public institutions.
Milliard's letter is his most definitive statement on the matter after being asked about it on back-to-back days on the campaign trail.
Earlier this week, the party leader said “all Quebecers should have access to the same voting process" and that he understood the disappointment of English-speaking Quebecers.
"I think we're going to need to find a solution but I'm not the government right now so that's the situation we find ourselves in right now, unfortunately," he told reporters on Wednesday.
Following backlash that included concerns raised by other party leaders, groups representing English-speaking Quebecers as well as the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Fréchette said on Wednesday that her government was in talks with Quebec's chief electoral officer to figure out next steps.
During a news conference on Thursday, however, she stated that Élections Québec's plan to mail the information only in French does not prevent English speakers from accessing the information they need.
"No one is being denied access to information. No one is being denied the right to vote either. The information remains available in English," Fréchette said, referring to information that will be available online to English speakers via QR codes included in the French physical documents or that will be accessible by visiting the agency's website.
But that QR code isn’t good enough, Milliard argued in his letter. He said it is not suited to the reality of the entire population, including older people who do not have smartphones.
���It represents a clear step backward from standard practice,” he wrote. “We collectively have an obligation to work toward greater electoral participation by the population.”
The democratic rights of English-speaking Quebecers should not be pitted against the promotion of the French language, he said, adding that the current situation will have no lasting impact on the vitality of French in Quebec, but it will generate harmful resentment.
Élections Québec told CBC News that the agency presented its concerns over French-only mailouts to the commissioner of the French language "as early as 2023," and during multiple meetings in 2025.
The agency reiterated on Thursday that it was "too late" to change its documents to include both languages.
This marks the first time Élections Québec will be mailing voter information documents in French only during a general election.
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With files from CBC's Mélissa François