Our Bureau of Investigation found that the Quebec Liberal Party, which is struggling to mobilize donors, recently borrowed $4.7 million from its buildings to pay for its campaign expenses.
The training, directed by Dominique Anglade, took out mortgages on two of its own buildings in Montreal and Quebec.
On August 17, it notably borrowed $3.6 million from the National Bank, pledging the building it serves as its headquarters on Queen Street in downtown Montreal.
The building was previously foreclosed. The Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) bought its former headquarters on Waverly Street for $3 million in cash in 2015 after selling it for more than $6 million.
During an Aug. 17 visit to the notary, QLP borrowed just over $1 million from the building on Wilfrid-Hamel Boulevard in Quebec City.
Photo by Stevens LeBlanc
The Liberal Party of Quebec mortgaged another building on Wilfrid-Hamel Boulevard in Quebec City for $1.1M.
Compared to the other four major parties, PLQ ranks last in terms of popular financing, our Bureau of Inquiry revealed on Monday.
For example, it has raised three times less than the coalition Avenir Quebec since the start of the year, twice as much as the Parti Québécois and Quebec Solidaire, and $200,000 less than Quebec’s Conservative Party.
On the other hand, PLQ has the advantage of being able to borrow against its buildings to pay for groceries. It is the only one of the five major parties that claims to have its own buildings and land.
Julie Martel, director general of PLQ, assured that the training provided a plan to pay back everything in “less than 6 months”.
“We had to set up a payment facility for the election campaign […] And we chose to use our buildings,” she explains in an interview.
Ms Martel takes her party’s financial situation “very seriously”.
“What I want, at the end of the day, is for my boss to have everything she needs for the campaign she wants to do,” she promised.
“This is the first time I’ve heard of a real estate mortgage campaign in Montreal,” said Eric Montigny, a political science professor at Laval University.
According to him, PLQ has the advantage of being able to draw on its “old-won”.
Mr. Montigny recalled. This loan gives PLQ additional flexibility.
PLQ also opens the door to selling its buildings in the medium term, in the context of post-pandemic telework.
“There will be reflection after the next election, Ms. Martel explains. If we sell hotlines, we will have to change. »
- The Liberal Party of Quebec’s delicate financial situation can be felt in some local communities, the party’s CEO acknowledges.
- “Communities are more than existence $35,000 where $40,000Maybe a little less,” agrees Julie Martel.
- “All our candidates have their sign, their door hanger, everything they need,” she assures us.
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