Ruba Ghazal, the only candidate on the starting line for the post of female spokesperson for QS

Photo: Marie-France Coallier Le Devoir Solidarity MNA Ruba Ghazal during the announcement of her candidacy for the position of female co-spokesperson for Québec Solidaire, at Parc Lafontaine, in Montreal, June 12, 2024

Caroline Plante – The Canadian Press

Published at 7:09 a.m. Updated at 7:23 a.m.

• Québec

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This Friday marks the official start of the race for spokesperson for Québec solidaire (QS), the second in two years, made necessary after the resounding resignation of Émilise Lessard-Therrien.

The last few months have been difficult for QS: barely elected, Ms. Lessard-Therrien threw in the towel, accusing the close guard of the male spokesperson, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, of having undue influence over the party.

Her departure, which followed the publication of the shock book Les têtes brûlées by Catherine Dorion, plunged QS into a real crisis. The situation, however, seems to have calmed down since then.

However, on Day 1 of the race to become the female spokesperson, only one candidate is in the running: Ruba Ghazal, who finished second last fall, just three votes behind Ms. Lessard-Therrien.

The deadline to submit your application is October 15.

“For the moment, I don't know if there will be other people,” the Mercier MP said in an interview with The Canadian Press. I invite all people who share QS values ​​to run.”

Christine Labrie will not be in the race this time, having chosen to act as interim, which prohibits her from running for the permanent position of co-spokesperson, according to the party's statutes.

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Even if there is no race, there will be a “mixing of ideas,” promises Ms. Ghazal, who says she wants to present several proposals until the vote on November 16.

When she announced her candidacy last June, she said she wanted to focus on “party unity” and “love of Quebec” to run her campaign.

During the last race, she talked about independence and the need to court suburbanites and private sector workers in the upcoming general election.

“I don’t intend to run a ‘quiet’ campaign where I don’t say anything new,” she said in an interview. I will put forward ideas and I am confident that it will generate interest.”

She wants to ensure that QS is talked about this fall, especially in the context where the rise of the Parti Québécois and the leadership race of the Quebec Liberal Party are already overshadowing the party.

“QS also wants to get people talking about us,” says Ms. Ghazal. “I don't think that if there is no race, we will go under the radar. It depends on what we put forward,” she insists.

One thing is certain: the party, which is stagnating in the polls, must give itself new momentum, says the 46-year-old elected official of Palestinian origin, who describes herself as a child of Law 101.

She believes she is the ideal person to give QS this “new lease of life,” and assures that she has support in the caucus, even if she prefers not to name them for the moment.

Last year, she was able to count on Sol Zanetti and Andrés Fontecilla. Reached by The Canadian Press, Mr. Zanetti declined to comment on the race, while Mr. Fontecilla was not immediately available.

“I am a founding member. I have been in the party since 2006. I was there when the light was far at the end of the tunnel. I have known those moments,” said Ms. Ghazal.

QS delegates will be asked to vote for their next female spokesperson during a virtual congress, which will take place on November 15 and 16.

The party will organize a mid-campaign event, which could take the form of a debate or a public meeting, the format remains to be determined, the party has announced.