In 2018, QS benefited from the greatest momentum in its history: the election of regional delegates and a doubling of the voter share. Since then, the Left Party, whether in its rebellious version with Catherine Dorion or without her, has stagnated and been overtaken by the PQ.
In her book “Les têtes brûlées”, the artist and former MP for Taschenreau says that the party team in parliament, led by Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, clipped her wings and accused her of taking up too much media space and not playing as a team.
Beyond the aspect of reckoning, there is no denying that two visions of Québec Solidaire collided.
The punk version of Catherine Dorion and the smoothed version of GND that wanted to professionalize the party.
The hardline stance of the MP, who had become a media darling, could have been attractive, but it appeared to be turning against the party if polls at the time are to be believed.
While the elected official made headlines in Parliament with her Dr. Martens boots and hoodies, the party lost its feathers with her comparison between the third term and a line of Coke.
There were whispers in the parliamentary wing that the antics of the divisive character were becoming damaging.
In her book, Catherine Dorion accuses the media of being more interested in “cheap scandals” than the real issues.
On the other hand, she welcomes the impact of her outings and the impact of her videos posted on social networks.
She then told her co-speakers that her behavior overshadowed the messages the party was sending, replying in her piece: “The basic arguments.” […] We have repeated them ad nauseam in media and intellectual circles […] We are now in the phase of getting out of these circles and letting the juice rise outside […] Awaken courage and disrespect.
His approach reveals a paradox regarding which form or content should be preferred.
After that it doesn’t get any better
However, the GND then found itself completely in the driver’s seat and became parliamentary group leader.
In the following election campaign, Catherine Dorion was no longer there and the party scored one point less than in 2018.
The co-speaker has cut his teeth on a proposed surcharge of thousands of dollars, particularly for family vans.
QS is still paying for this bad campaign today.
GND has made the cost of living the main topic of the autumn meeting, but François Legault constantly refers to his “orange taxes”.
There’s more to it than that.
survey
In the eyes of some solidarity activists, Nadeau-Dubois appears too conventional compared to what Amir Khadir and Manon Massé represented.
The decision to maintain party ads on Facebook during Jean-Talon’s election while the giant Meta blocked local media content was in complete contradiction to the spirit of solidarity.
“Yes, we hear that members are unhappy with the recent decisions,” admits a source within the party.
Catherine Dorion’s book sounds like a warning and represents a head start for GND before the congress where he will be re-elected male co-speaker.
The timing of its release would have been chosen based on the Montreal Book Fair, but reading it will make some wonder whether the party has the right conductors while support is constantly stagnant at around 15%.
There is still time until 2026, although QS still appears to be facing a generational wall, only 3% in favor of the over 55s.
Moving your ceiling will be quite a challenge.
