Coalition Avenir Québec under fire for election ad described as exploitative

MONTREAL — Quebec’s governing party is defending itself against accusations it underpaid and took advantage of a woman who appeared in a widely promoted election ad.

The Coalition Avenir Québec is being heavily criticized on social media for a series of short ads on television and online, depicting a woman in the Mauricie region lauding the party and its leader, Premier François Legault.

The woman’s daughter, Chantal Landry, says the family thought the interview would be part of a series of videos of regular voters and not the central component of a political ad, adding that her mother was only paid $250.

The CAQ’s political opponents called on Legault’s party to pull the ad, pay the woman more money for using her image and apologize to the family.