Before CAQ renounced private political donations, party proposed doubling maximum contribution to $200

Quebec Premier Francois Legault responds to the Opposition during question period, Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at the legislature in Quebec City. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

François Legault's Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), which has just temporarily renounced popular financing, proposed raising the ceiling on political donations to $200 last summer.

The information, first reported by 98.5 FM and Radio-Canada, was confirmed by The Canadian Press.

"We agreed to study in the technical committee of the DGEQ (Chief Electoral Officer) an update of the $100 in today's dollars. We consulted and decided not to pursue this avenue a few weeks ago," said CAQ Director General Brigitte Legault in writing.

The Canadian Press obtained a copy of a document from the CAQ's permanent office dating from August, the subject of which is 'Proposals for legislative changes to the Election Act.' It showed that the party proposed revising the donation ceiling from $100 to $200 and including an indexation mechanism.

This proposal is at odds with what the premier announced on Thursday. While the CAQ has been at the centre of controversy over its fundraising practices for the past two weeks, Legault has stated that his party will no longer collect donations from citizens. In 2023, the CAQ raised just over $800,000 in popular contributions.

Asked at a press briefing how long he had been mulling the idea, the premier replied: "It's something we've been discussing for a long time."

In messages obtained by The Canadian Press, CAQ elected officials invited mayors to fundraising cocktails, offering the promise of a meeting with ministers in exchange for a $100 contribution to the party coffers.

Two CAQ MNAs -- Louis-Charles Thouin and Sylvain Lévesque -- are under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner of the National Assembly. Two other requests for investigation have been filed by Québec solidaire for MNAs Gilles Bélanger and Yves Montigny.

Under the Election Act, each citizen may contribute a maximum of $100 to a political party but may not do so to obtain a quid pro quo.

The premier also called on the other political parties to stop collecting donations. All opposition parties quickly rejected the CAQ offer, calling it a "panic attack" or "diversion."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 2, 2024.