Québec Solidaire is picking a new co-spokesperson. Here are the candidates
One of Quebec's opposition parties is about to go through a major change.
Members of Québec Solidaire (QS) are getting together in Gatineau for a convention this weekend, where the party can assess itself and map out its next moves.
During the gathering, the party will also unveil its newest co-spokesperson.
Since being named to the role in 2017, Manon Massé has been a key figure within the party. She was the QS candidate for premier in the 2018 provincial election.
In May, she announced that she would step down as co-spokesperson, while staying on as the MNA for the Montreal riding of Sainte-Marie-Saint-Jacques. Her departure signals a significant change in leadership for a party looking to become a bigger player on the provincial scene between now and the next Quebec election in 2026.
Typically, provincial political parties have a single leader. QS, however, has two co-spokespeople. The party is also committed to having a man and a woman as spokespeople.
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois has been co-spokesperson for the party since 2017 and was the party's candidate for premier in the last provincial election.
The party has been polling around 15 per cent, a number it hopes to increase as the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) sees its popularity decline. The governing party has been losing points over the last two months.
Massé's tenure ends this weekend and her replacement will be named on Sunday. Here are the three women vying for that spot.
Ruba Ghazal has been the MNA for the Montreal riding of Mercier since 2018. (Jean-Michel Cotnoir/Radio-Canada)
Ruba Ghazal
Ruba Ghazal is one of the founding members of Québec Solidaire.
Ghazal, who is of Palestinian origin, was born in Lebanon.
In 2018, she was elected MNA for the Montreal riding of Mercier, and was re-elected in last year's election. She currently serves as the party's education critic at the National Assembly.
Ghazal declined an interview with CBC News.
Christine Labrie's 2018 win in the Sherbrooke riding helped QS spread beyond the Montreal area. (Sylvain Roy Roussel/CBC)
Christine Labrie
Christine Labrie's 2018 victory in the Sherbrooke riding helped spread the party's footprint beyond the Montreal area.
She was re-elected in 2022.
Prior to her first victory, she worked as a teacher's assistant at the Université de Sherbrooke as she pursued her PhD in feminist studies.
She's currently her party's critic on matters related to government administration, the Treasury Board, social services, mental health and seniors.
Labrie said the new co-spokesperson will have to make QS a viable alternative to the current government.
"I think it's the priority because with the governmental and social crises we have in Quebec," she said.
"It will not be easy but I'm used to difficult tasks. I'm here to listen to the concerns of the people that we represent."
She believes the race will be close as the three women share similar values.
No longer a sitting MNA, Émilise Lessard-Therrien says she will have more time to travel the province, building support for QS. (Sylvain Roy Roussel/Radio-Canada)
Émilise Lessard-Therrien
Émilise Lessard-Therrien was elected to the National Assembly in the Rouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue riding in the province's Abitibi region in 2018.
She lost her seat in 2022.
In 2019, she graduated from the Université du Québec à Montréal with a bachelor's degree in education, with a focus on high school education.
Lessard-Therrien believes she can bridge the gap between QS and the regions, as the party's main voters are in major cities. She said she would be able to spend more time in the field talking to constituents since she no longer sits in the legislature.
"The people need to feel that Québec Solidaire is for everybody in Quebec," she said.
"Politics is not only [at the National Assembly], it's also and maybe more with people in the street."
