Former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre applies to enter Quebec Liberal leadership race

Montreal mayoral candidate Denis Coderre takes part in a debate with Valérie Plante, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, in Montreal. Former Montreal mayor Coderre has officially applied to enter the race to lead the Quebec Liberal Party.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

QUÉBEC — Former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre has officially applied to enter the race to lead the Quebec Liberal Party, but the spectre of a dispute with the provincial tax agency is hanging over his candidacy.

Coderre spent the first part of a Friday press conference in Quebec City explaining the current status of his tax problems and threatening legal action against Revenu Québec. He said he has reached a "global agreement" with the federal and provincial revenue agencies to resolve his debts, and insisted the controversy will not compromise his campaign.

"I'm the one who can connect with people," he told reporters. "I'm a bridge builder."

Coderre announced in June that he would run for the provincial Liberal leadership, but has since struggled to get ahead of media reports that he owes roughly $400,000 to the two tax agencies. He said Friday that the problems stem from the fact that he suffered a stroke in 2023 and was unable to manage his affairs, and that he has gone through a divorce.

Coderre has said he is in the process of selling his house to resolve the debts. A statement from his lawyer published Friday says there is a "global plan" with both levels of government "for settling all amounts owed."

But Coderre also said he wants to know if representatives of the Quebec government tried to harm his candidacy by making his financial affairs public, claiming he found out through a Montreal newspaper that Revenu Québec had imposed a legal mortgage on his home. He told reporters he is considering filing a lawsuit against the agency.

"Put yourself in my shoes," he said. "When it's journalists who inform me of my own tax situation, that doesn't make sense. We have rights and we must also be respected."

Coderre submitted his application Friday morning to run in the Quebec Liberal leadership race, but it's unclear whether it will be accepted. Patrick Huot, general director of the party, told reporters a committee has seven days to review Coderre's candidacy. He said candidates are asked to provide their tax returns.

The former mayor, who has also been a federal Liberal cabinet minister, described a 10-point plan for Quebec that highlighted a project to nationalize water, which he believes must be protected from the incoming Trump administration. A statement outlining the plan said that United States president-elect Donald Trump wants to "monopolize Canada's resources and will do anything to ensure that the United States has access to them."

Coderre wants to scrap Quebec's controversial language reforms, known as Bill 96, but says he supports Bill 21, the secularism law that forbids public sector employees like teachers and police officers from wearing religious symbols. He also supports a contentious project to build a "third link" for motor vehicles between Quebec City and suburbs across the St. Lawrence River, infrastructure the Quebec Liberals officially oppose.

Coderre also said he wants to give more autonomy to municipalities.

The presumed front-runner in the Liberal leadership race is former federal cabinet minister Pablo Rodriguez. He and Charles Milliard, former head of the federation of Quebec chambers of commerce, both have support from within the Liberal caucus. Coderre does not, and said Friday that some members of the "establishment" oppose him, but insisted his campaign is being taken seriously.

Tax lawyer Marc Bélanger is also running. The Quebec Liberals will elect their new leader on June 14.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2025.

— By Maura Forrest in Montreal, with files from Thomas Laberge in Quebec City

The Canadian Press