The event was presented as a debate, but we had more the impression of witnessing the autopsy of the strategy that Québec Solidaire has pursued in recent years. For over an hour, the three candidates for speaker spoke in detail and without white gloves about everything that was wrong in their party.
While in other political groups races sometimes express more or less profound ideological differences, there is nothing of the sort in Québec Solidaire. The three candidates in the race are in the same boat on most issues.
Therefore, apart from some references to the housing crisis or the climate crisis, discussions focused mainly on party-specific tactical or strategic considerations. Those who aspire to succeed Manon Massé are, in turn, wondering whether it would be better to win over the elderly affected by the housing crisis, those aged 35 to 54 or even middle-class workers. The discussion was polite, courteous and disciplined, with the rare moments of genuine debate quickly ending due to lack of time.
Differences in style
Of the three candidates, Ruba Ghazal was the most combative, challenging her colleagues on several issues such as the lack of parity within the faction and the party’s inability to reach out to citizens in the suburbs.
Christine Labrie, who was less quick to talk about sovereignty than she, asked whether the party made the right decision not to make a specific announcement on the issue in the last election and whether it was committed to making such an announcement in 2026 to do if so elected speaker.
To Émilise Lessard-Therrien, who speaks a lot about decentralization, she asked how it was possible to give more autonomy to the regions while ensuring the realization of the party’s main national objectives.
But how do we do that? she repeated several times and tried to elicit concrete suggestions from those opposite her.
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MP Christine Labrie is the candidate who received the most support in the Quebec Solidaire Caucus.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Guillaume Croteau-Langevin
On the other hand, it was Christine Labrie who was the strictest towards her own party. The MP calls on Québec Solidaire to simplify its vocabulary, change the tone of its message and, above all, translate its great ideals into concrete proposals.
She gave the environmental issue as an example: It is a topic that causes us a lot of feelings of resentment. People are aware that we need to fight climate change, but they feel judged by our speech, she said.
She also wasn’t kind to certain commitments made in the last election to help the middle class: you know, when we talk about land trusts [pour aider les citoyens à se loger], how many people can understand what that means when they hear it on the radio? To be honest, where I come from, there is no one who can understand this vocabulary. On the other hand, if these findings are clear, they may have angered some activists.
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The candidacy of Émilise Lessard-Therrien, former MP for Rouyn-Noranda-Témiscamingue, received the support of Rosemont elected representative Vincent Marissal.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Jacques Boissinot
For her part, Émilise Lessard-Therrien rather tried to generate inspiration. My biggest priority is to strengthen the courage to act, she said, arguing that the increased presence of a speaker on the ground, who does not have to sit in the National Assembly, would make it possible to give more meaning to the work of members.
In her more conceptual approach, she argued for the party to be more responsive to voters’ feelings: It is also important to put the dream back at the center of Québec Solidaire’s discourse. I realized that for many people it is not rational when they vote. You will vote a lot on emotions.
Sovereignty sparks debate
If the candidates agree on several issues, it is the issue of sovereignty that has generated the most lively debate.
There are important projects that we need to do internally in order to remain independent. “For example, we would never accept a survey telling us that half of our members do not identify as feminists,” explained Christine Labrie, pointing to opinion polls that suggest a large portion of the QS electorate said “no.” would be true if there was a new referendum.
They are not members, they are voters. “It is very, very important to make a distinction,” Ruba immediately corrected Ghazal, clearly keen to defend those who will choose the next co-speaker.
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Candidate Ruba Ghazal received the support of MPs Sol Zanetti and Andrés Fontecilla.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Jacques Boissinot
Regarding the Constituent Assembly that would lead Quebec to its independence, the member for Sherbrooke was equally caustic: “At the moment we have a nice opportunity to talk about the Constituent Assembly, but that shouldn’t exempt us from having our own “I’m thinking about what we want in a sovereign Quebec,” she claimed.
For her part, Émilise Lessard-Therrien argued that it is time to advance the independence discourse with a solidarity approach, linking sovereignty to people’s daily concerns. “For example, we will never be able to achieve food sovereignty for Quebec if we remain stuck in the federal government,” she explained.
Visions for reconciliation
It must not have escaped Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, who was sitting in the front row, that several of the criticisms voiced by the candidates were directed against him and his strategy of recent years. If you listen to the aspiring speakers, a lot will change after the next congress. We are yet to know what the male co-speaker thinks of all this, who has already hinted that he is thinking about his political future.
However, as all candidates explained in their own way, their ability to engage is limited by the job description of the position they are applying for. At Québec Solidaire, it is the members who take ownership of the program; The person who is chosen will ultimately only be their spokesman.
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Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois spoke during the debate in Trois-Rivières.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Jacques Boissinot
Finally, everyone wants to remember what sets them apart from their opponents on a personal level. Christine Labrie insisted on the powerful symbol of electing a first speaker from outside Montreal. Émilise Lessard-Therrien argued that an extra-parliamentary speaker would have more time for discussions with citizens. Ruba Ghazal spoke about her journey as a daughter of immigrants who was never destined to go into politics.
In a context where few differences have emerged at the political level so far, it is the personality of each candidate and what her election would symbolize that risks having the greatest influence on the choice of delegates.