Multitudes: a citizen movement that grows in Quebec

The non -profit organization Multitudes coordinated his second kitchen assembly of the year last Saturday. Nearly forty groups have connected to a zoom meeting to join the movement from the four corners of the province, including Verdun.

Organized at the invitation of this organization with more than a thousand members, this rally brought together, on May 3, people engaged and involved around two main themes: the ecological and political transition of Quebec.

“I don’t learn anything to say that we are going through an extremely unstable period at the moment. In recent years, there has been a convergence of several crises whether climate, economic and political, ”announces Marie-Ève ​​Bélanger-Southey, member of Multitudes.

For her, the rise of the extreme right and the current tariff war can also cause sensations of “anxiety, amazement, disorientation, then even impotence”.

Reinventing democracy?

Jonathan Durand Folco, membre de Multitudes And professor at Saint-Paul University in Ottawa, sees the oligarchy as the cause of all social problems. He believes that people privileged in power use it to enrich themselves.

“For us, the answer is to reinvent democracy,” says Folco before emphasizing that such a participatory system makes it possible to share power with the people, but also to “regain control over our environment, on our future”.

According to him, there are different strategies to decentralize power, such as infiltrating public institutions, for example. “For us, it’s not fair to go on the street to challenge a law, a project. It is perhaps to get involved in his CPE, his school board, in his workplace, create a union locally, “he explains.

For movement Multitudesdemocracy can be exercised through decision -making by the community, the democratization of society and the sharing of power with the greatest number.

However, with more than 1000 members, the organization now refuses to become a political party or to present candidates for the elections.

Kitchen assembly in Verdun

After the zoom meeting broadcast around Quebec, Multitudes invited each group to start their kitchen assembly. The objective for the various local groups was to reflect on the means of taking action.

In Verdun, several people expressed a certain skepticism in the face of the movement and its invitation. They question the operating mode of Multitudes And its similarities with other popular mobilization movements.

“I wouldn’t wait after Multitudesin all respect, because we will wait a long time, ”says Francis Waddell of Tomorrow Verdunthe citizen movement very active in the district. “It is not they who will tell us what to do, it is up to us to decide,” he concluded.

The cover photo was taken by Myrialine Catule on May 3, 2025.