Duhaime told reporters Friday morning that he used AI as "a tool among others" to write the book, titled Destination Autonomie, which was published in April.

Duhaime, who previously worked as a columnist and radio host, said he used AI to structure his thoughts and that the ideas in the book are all his.

"AI is important to us. It's part of reality. That said, it has to be done under human supervision. And that's exactly what happened," Duhaime said.

Using the AI-detection software Pangram, Quebecor media outlets reported on Thursday that 62 per cent of the book was machine-generated.

The introduction, written by Conservative candidate Maite Blanchette-Vezina, was reported to have been completely AI-generated. Blanchette-Vezina had previously crossed the floor to join Duhaime's party after being shuffled out of former premier Francois Legault's Coalition Avenir Quebec cabinet.

Duhaime has supported the use of AI throughout his campaign, saying it could be useful to cut bureaucracy.

He also admitted on Friday to using AI in his campaign materials, including to generate charts, a table of contents and the layout of the party's financial framework.

"Social progress has been achieved thanks to technology, not in spite of it. So, for us, it was a step forward for society, not a step backward," he said, questioned on the ethics of his use of AI.

In his book, Duhaime reflects on how Quebec can gain more autonomy within the Canadian Confederation.

Duhaime has published four other books. He came out as gay in his 2017 book, titled La fin de l'homosexualite et le dernier gay ("The end of homosexuality and the last gay man" in French).

He has also written books critical of labour unions, baby boomers and the monopoly of Quebec's government-owned liquor corporation.

This report by was first published Oct. 2, 2026.