Quebec's chief electoral officer has opened an investigation into revelations from a former Quebec Liberal candidate who says he accepted two envelopes of cash after the 2008 provincial election.

David Grégoire ran for the Liberal Party of Quebec in the Masson riding in 2008. He came in second. (CBC) David Grégoire, who ran for the Liberals in the Masson riding northeast of Montreal, said he received money from a local bureaucrat and a developer shortly after his unsuccessful campaign came to an end.

His allegations are being denied by the Liberal Party of Quebec and the people who he allege gave him the money.

Grégoire said after the election, he was called to a meeting with the director general of the town of Mascouche, Luc Tremblay.

"He closed the door. He stopped immediately his conversation, and he gave me this envelope containing $3,000," Grégoire told CBC News.

'I'm not really proud of that, but I'm doing it right now because I want the system to change.'— David Grégoire, former Quebec Liberal candidate

Grégoire said he was taken aback and didn't know what to do, so he accepted the envelope.

He said Tremblay told him the money could be useful.

A few weeks later Grégoire was in his campaign office when he said a man came in with another envelope.

"This Italian guy came in. I was alone, and he gave me money," said Grégoire.

He said he was told that the money was from Luigi Salvatore, a developer in the area. He said he was asked to give the money to his campaign organizer, Alain Gauthier.

Grégoire said when he gave Gauthier the money, Gauthier hinted the whole thing had been arranged by a long-time Liberal fundraiser named George Boudreault.

Allegations denied

Tremblay, Gauthier, Boudreault, Salvatore and the Liberal Party of Quebec have all denied Grégoire's allegations.

Marc Thompson, president of the Masson riding association, described Gregoire's story as both surprising and false.

'I confirm we carefully followed the letter of the Elections Act and all of the regulations of the chief electoral officer.'— Marc Thompson, president of the Masson riding association

"I was the official financing agent for David Grégoire during the 2008 general election. I confirm we carefully followed the letter of the Elections Act and all of the regulations of the chief electoral officer," said Thompson in a statement on the Liberal Party of Quebec website.

"All of the expenses and sources of revenue linked to the election campaign were declared, with invoices and receipts of support. There are limits to claiming just anything in the name of sensationalism."

Grégoire not proud of actions

Last week, two Quebec politicians said they had been offered envelopes allegedly stuffed with money, by the mayor of Laval, Gilles Vaillancourt.

The stories inspired Grégoire to come forward with his own experience, he said.

"I'm not really proud of that, but I'm doing that right now because I want the system to change," said Grégoire.

Grégoire spent five hours Monday giving a statement to police investigators from Operation Hammer (Marteau), the specialized squad investigating alleged corruption in the construction industry

According to Quebec election laws, campaign donations must be made via cheque and declared by the person giving them. The limit for an individual donation is $3,000.

In the 2008 election, Grégoire came in second place to Parti Québécois candidate Guillaume Tremblay, by a margin of about 9,000 votes.