Françoise Boivin, NDP candidate for Gatineau, has defended allegations made by the Montreal newspaper Le Devoir.

The newspaper alleged that Boivin hired her same-sex partner to work in her offices during her time as Liberal representative for Gatineau - a breach of parliamentary rules. Boivin insists the person wasn't her partner, just her roommate.

Boivin has stated before that she left the Liberal Party for philosophical reasons.

Boivin is running a strong campaign against incumbent Bloc Québécois candidate Richard Nadeau and Liberal Steve MacKinnon. A statement on Boivin's website says the allegations are part of "a smear campaign attacking her integrity since her campaign in Gatineau is going very well."