Ontario Provincial Police questioned Premier Kathleen Wynne Wednesday in a bribery investigation involving two Liberal operatives.

The highly unusual meeting – police questioning a sitting Premier in a corruption probe – had been planned for more than two months. It is unclear why it took so long to happen; Ms. Wynne has in the past suggested that she and her lawyers were simply playing duelling schedules with the OPP.

The Premier's office quietly confirmed the meeting after it was over, in a 7:30 p.m. ET email, but provided few details.

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"The Premier answered openly and her answers were consistent with the public statements she has already made," spokeswoman Zita Astravas wrote. "We will continue to cooperate fully and will have no further comments so as to not interfere with the ongoing investigation."

The investigation centres on Ms. Wynne's deputy chief of staff, Patricia Sorbara, and Gerry Lougheed, a Sudbury businessman and Liberal fundraiser.

Police allege Ms. Sorbara and Mr. Lougheed offered a government job to former Liberal candidate Andrew Olivier in exchange for him giving up his bid for the party's nomination in the Feb. 5 by-election. The Liberals wanted Mr. Olivier to step aside so that Glenn Thibeault, at the time a federal MP, could take the nomination unopposed.

In court documents filed in February, OPP investigators said they had grounds to believe Ms. Sorbara and Mr. Lougheed broke the law. Section 125 of the Criminal Code forbids government officials from trading jobs in exchange for bribes or political favours; the offence carries a maximum of five years in prison.

Mr. Olivier rebuffed the Liberal overtures and released recordings of his conversations with Ms. Sorbara and Mr. Lougheed.

In one conversation, Ms. Sorbara laid out a list of possible job options for Mr. Olivier: "Whether it's a full-time or a part-time job at a constituency office, whether it is appointments to boards or commissions, whether it is also going on the [Liberal Party] executive." Mr. Lougheed, for his part, told Mr. Olivier that he could get a "reward" if he stepped aside.

Both Ms. Sorbara and Mr. Lougheed invoked Ms. Wynne's name in the discussions, implying that they would get the Premier to appoint Mr. Olivier to a job. There has been no evidence, however, that Ms. Wynne directed this.

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The Premier has refused to ask Ms. Sorbara to step aside during the investigation, and she remains a top aide in Ms. Wynne's office.

Ms. Wynne has argued that Ms. Sorbara and Mr. Lougheed did nothing wrong, since Ms. Wynne had the power to appoint Mr. Thibeault as candidate and did not need Mr. Olivier to step aside for this to happen. The opposition parties have argued that logic makes no sense, as the tapes show Ms. Sorbara and Mr. Lougheed were actively trying to convince Mr. Olivier to give up his nomination bid.

In the end, Mr. Thibeault received the Liberal nomination and won the Feb. 5 by-election.