PQ leader defends the way he handled 2 candidates' expulsion

Parti Québécois (PQ) leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon defended his decision not to insist that the two candidates he expelled from his party the day before withdraw completely from the race.

On Friday, St-Pierre Plamondon expelled two candidates for written or shared comments about women wearing the veil and the Muslim religion.

The two banned candidates, however, refused to withdraw their candidacy.

Their names - Pierre Vanier and Catherine Provost - will remain on the ballot.

"They asked me to be judged on the whole and not the publications of 2015, only, and I accepted that request," he replied during a news scrum in Trois-Rivières on Saturday.

For Québec solidaire spokesman Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the decision shows a lack of leadership.

"This is not a real decision," he said Friday. "Either Mr. Plamondon keeps them in his team, in this case, he assumes (...), or he decides to remove them from his team, but in this case, he can't collect their vote. He can't do both at the same time."

"I understand that other parties throw mud, make accusations at the end of the race," said St-Pierre Plamondon. "I have made my decision, and people will judge whether this decision, it is adequate and reasonable in the circumstances."

The leader defended his management style in this matter.

"Leadership is to make difficult decisions, but with respect and listening to everyone involved by trying to consider all aspects, and that is the decision I made," he said.