ST. LAMBERT, Que. — Young activists from the Quebec Liberal Party convened in the Montreal-area suburb of St. Lambert this weekend for a concentrated training session aimed at sharpening their skills ahead of the provincial election scheduled for Oct. 5.
Preparing a new generation for the campaign trail
The convention, organised by the party’s youth commission, ran a series of workshops focused on practical campaign skills — from organising a riding campaign to building digital outreach and extending volunteer networks. The sessions were designed to equip younger members with tactical tools they say will be needed during a compressed and highly competitive election period.
Charles Milliard, leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, addressed attendees and took questions during the afternoon program. The appearance underlined the party’s push to energize younger voters and to integrate new volunteers into constituency-level efforts across the province.
Voices from the floor
Outlining the mood among participants, Charlie Bourdages, who is stepping down as chair of the youth commission, said younger members are pressing for a longer-term perspective from political leadership — a shift from short electoral cycles toward sustained policy focus.
“Milliard offers a ‘sound economic vision’ for the province,”
— Victor Pelletier, a 25-year-old attendee who switched from the governing Coalition Avenir Québec to the Liberals within the past two months, conveyed during the convention why he made the switch.
What the workshops covered
Organisers emphasised practical, hands-on training. Key topics included:
- Running a riding-level campaign: volunteer coordination, voter contact and local messaging.
- Social media strategy: reaching younger voters and countering misinformation online.
- Network building: recruiting and retaining volunteers and connecting with community groups.
The training sought to combine conventional grassroots tactics with modern digital techniques to help local teams become more effective in the days and weeks before the Oct. 5 vote.
Context and implications
An election on Oct. 5 will pit the province’s main parties against each other following eight years of governance by the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ). For the Liberals, the youth convention is part of a broader effort to rebuild and broaden their base of support after several challenging electoral cycles.
Recruiting activists who can campaign at the neighbourhood level is often decisive in close races. Concentrated training like this is intended to produce a cohort of volunteers who can be rapidly deployed to key ridings, bolster voter-contact operations and sustain door-to-door and phone outreach during the campaign period.
Local flavour, provincial stakes
The choice of St. Lambert, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River opposite downtown Montreal, reflected the party’s strategy to engage both urban and suburban volunteers. The area has a history of active political organising and serves as a practical meeting point for participants from the wider Montreal region.
For younger attendees, the convention offered both training and a chance to assess leadership directly. Milliard’s presence and responsiveness to questions were noted by several participants as a factor in motivating recent conversions to the party.
Event details at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Event | Quebec Liberal Party youth convention |
| Location | St. Lambert (Montreal area) |
| Date | August 15, 2026 |
| Key speaker | Charles Milliard, Quebec Liberal Leader |
As the campaign calendar shortens, the effectiveness of training efforts and the degree to which new recruits are mobilised could have tangible effects on local races across Quebec. For now, the youth convention represents one piece of the larger mobilisation that parties will attempt to sustain between now and the October vote.
This account is based on reporting and material released Aug. 15, 2026.
