Former Liberal MNA Sona Lakhoyan Olivier could face $8,000 fine for violating ethics code

Liberal MNA Sona Lakhoyan Olivier, right, and previous party leader Pablo Rodriguez speak to the media after a caucus meeting at the party's headquarters in Montreal on Friday, November 21, 2025. (The Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi)

The National Assembly Ethics Commissioner is recommending an $8,000 fine against MNA Sona Lakhoyan Olivier for holding partisan activities during the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) leadership race at her Chomedey constituency office.

The former Liberal MNA was found to also have obstructed the commissioner’s work.

“The evidence shows that the constituency office premises and the payroll of staff members were used for partisan purposes between April and June 2025, and to an increased extent at two pivotal moments in the race,” writes Commissioner Ariane Mignolet in her report tabled Thursday in the National Assembly.

“The office then became the headquarters for partisan activities carried out by the Chomedey riding association, and staff members were actively mobilized,” she added.

Obstruction

The report also showed that the MNA obstructed the commissioner’s investigation.

“The evidence reveals that the MNA discussed the investigation on several occasions with her staff members in order to convince them of the validity of her version of events and to dictate their potential responses to questions,” the commissioner wrote.

Lakhoyan Olivier also “modified the settings of a chat channel used for professional and partisan purposes to prevent anyone from recording screenshots or exporting the conversation history.”

Mignolet therefore recommends a $8,000 fine due to the “seriousness of the violations” and the “MNA’s lack of respect toward her staff members and the National Assembly.”

‘Zero tolerance’

Lakhoyan Olivier was expelled from the Liberal caucus last December when the investigation was launched.

Liberal leader Charles Milliard said on Thursday that his party would support the commissioner’s report and that the MNA would remain excluded from the caucus.

“The actions taken are incompatible with the values and standards we hold ourselves to. This is zero tolerance. She will therefore not be a candidate for the party in the next general election,” he wrote on X.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 7, 2026.

Patrice Bergeron and Thomas Laberge, The Canadian Press