The election was conducted using a one member, one vote formula. Each member of the Parti Quebecois was allowed to vote by phone or on the web from May 13 until May 15. If there is not a majority for a candidate on the first ballot, there will be a run-off ballot between the two candidates who had the most votes on the first ballot. If a second ballot was required, it would have been held from May 20 until May 22. To be nominated, a candidate needed to collect 2,000 signatures aggregated from 50 ridings, in 10 regions and pay $20,000 to be listed on the first ballot. If there were a second ballot, candidates would have had to pay an additional $5,000. The spending limit was $400,000. A proposal to allow a vote open to non-members was defeated.
Timeline
April 7, 2014: General election results in the defeat of the incumbent PQ government. Pauline Marois, who lost her seat in the National Assembly of Quebec, announces that she will be resigning as party leader.
April 10, 2014: Stéphane Bédard chosen interim parliamentary leader by the PQ caucus.
May 13, 2014: Former Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe announces he will not be a candidate for the PQ leadership despite polls showing him to be the most popular choice of the potential candidates.
June 7, 2014: Marois' resignation takes effect; Parti Québécois Council of Presidents meets to discuss the party's future course and the timing and rules for the leadership election. A decision on setting a date for the election was deferred until the fall. A proposal was made to hold an open primary in which all Quebeckers could vote for the party's leader.
October 4, 2014: PQ riding association presidents met in Sherbrooke, Quebec to decide rules and timeline for leadership election.
;Background , MNA for Lac-Saint-Jean MNA for Lac-Saint-Jean, Minister for Canadian Intergovernmental Affairs, the Canadian Francophonie and Sovereignist Governance. ;Supporters , MNA for Vachon
;Background MNA for Marie-Victorin, Minister responsible for Democratic Institutions and Active Citizenship and the main architect and defender of the Quebec Charter of Values. former Radio-Canada journalist. ;Supporters
Gilles Duceppe, former leader of the Bloc Québécois and MP for Laurier—Sainte-Marie. Announced on May 13, 2014 that he will not be a candidate.
Sylvain Gaudreault, MNA for Jonquière, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Transport.
Réjean Hébert, former MNA for Saint-François, Minister of Health. Announced on September 3, 2014, that he is finished with politics and is resuming his career as a physician.
Véronique Hivon, MNA for Joliette, Minister of Social services and Youth protection.
Nicole Léger, MNA for Pointe-aux-Trembles, Minister responsible for Family Services, Minister responsible for the War against Poverty, Minister of Families.
Nicolas Marceau, MNA for Rousseau, Minister of Finance. Announced on 10 November that he will not be a candidate.
