Jérémy Gabriel has been active in the NDP for a decade and is now an activist for the Bloc Québécois. Secularism, language, Pauline Marois and even the Supreme Court are among the reasons that led him to champion independence.
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“Working as an activist in a federalist party made me realize how sovereign I was. There are many Sovereignists who do,” he said in an interview at the Bloc convention in Drummondville.
Like many Quebecers, young Jérémy was mesmerized by the Orange Wave that swept the province in 2011. First an activist, then political attaché in the 2019 election, he wanted to take the plunge as a candidate for the 2021 election, an adventure he threw himself into the water. In a publication on his social networks at the time, he announced that this was all just “a postponement”.
Nearly two years later, the main prospect takes a closer look at the party, with which “disunity” was growing, “particularly” over its beliefs on secularism.
“In the NDP, on the other hand, there is a great deal of rejection,” he believes. “I’ve been called xenophobic, racist, etc.”
The young man, who describes himself as “deep left”, was also opposed to what he calls “totalitarianism at the level of ideas”. “We don’t really accept deviating from the party line, and that didn’t sit well with me.”
Always sovereign
Like former New Democrat Pierre Nantel and other Quebec Solidaire activists, working for the NDP did not prevent Jérémy Gabriel from secretly championing the idea of an independent Quebec.
He attributes the origin of his feelings to Pauline Marois.
When he was about ten years old, Jérémy Gabriel entered the National Assembly, where he received a badge of lilies from the then leader of the official opposition.
“She knelt down and said to me, ‘Jérémy, I know you travel a lot and I want you to be proud of where you come from, so carry your lily with you wherever you go,'” he says.
“I’ve carried them all over the world and over time, that’s what led me to become a sovereignist.”
The ultimate click
The seed for independence was sown, but Jérémy Gabriel cites another totally unexpected and deeply personal reason that led to the “click”: the Supreme Court decision in favor of Mike Ward, made in October 2021, shortly after his mishap in 2021, the federal election fell.
“It’s a shame, but that’s what happened,” he says.
“Personally, I didn’t take it, but my political interpretation of this ruling is that the Supreme Court is a foreign court, it is interpreting the Quebec Charter from the outside, and its interpretation is wrong,” claims Jeremy Gabriel.
In his opinion, it is “completely” clear that the Supreme Court made a “mistake” and that a Quebec Supreme Court would have concurred with it, particularly given the decisions in his case by the Quebec Supreme Court, the Cour Appeals of Quebec and the Human Rights Court.
Crossing”
“Social justice, gender equality and the fight against poverty are very important to me,” said Jérémy Gabriel.
Today, Quebec is “at a crossroads in terms of language and immigration,” he added. He would like “an integration model that ensures that it doesn’t matter whether someone comes from somewhere else or from here, that they manage to have their full freedom.”
“We will have no choice but to go back to this sovereign/federalist political axis, he thinks, because it’s either about the loss of political power and assimilation in Canada or about the emancipation of our nation, our people.” The choice between the two comes easy to someone who loves Quebec.”