However, I categorically reject the abusive use of the expression 'genocide'", from a 2004 opinion piece in Le Devoir. The Parti Québécois was criticised over these remarks; PQ leader André Boisclair defended Philpot, stating that Philpot's words had been misrepresented.
Philpot was an unsuccessful candidate for the riding of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne in the 2007 Quebec general election, representing the Parti Québécois. During the campaign, remarks by Philpot about the Rwandan Genocide were publicised, including the statement: "In none of my writings have I denied that there were mass killings, some even of an ethnic character.