Solidarity Quebec Congress | The role of “real leader” could be entrusted to a co-spokesperson

(Quebec) Activists from Québec Solidaire will be at a conference this weekend to dust off the party’s statutes. On the menu, the possibility of leaving members the choice to decide who will be the “aspiring prime minister” between Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois and Ruba Ghazal during the general elections of 2026, and to entrust the role of “real leader” to the one of the two co-spokespeople. They will also take the opportunity to clean up the structure of the political formation, and could dissolve the “collectives”.

A race to be an aspiring prime minister?

Québec solidaire (QS) has two co-spokespersons. On Saturday, Ruba Ghazal will officially take office, alongside Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, following a race in which she was the only candidate. But who should be the parliamentary leader of the party? Who should represent the political party in the leaders’ debate, and if necessary, become prime minister? And who should wear the hat of true leader of Quebec Solidarity within the meaning of the law? Party activists will answer this question, party president Roxane Milot explained in an interview. One scenario envisaged: allowing members to make this choice, one year before the elections. Obviously, Mr. Nadeau-Dubois and Mr.^me Ghazal could agree to indicate their preference to the activists, but there could also be a race between the two.

As for the “real leader”, this role is currently given to the secretary general of the party. It would instead be entrusted to one of the two co-spokespeople. One of the reasons motivating this choice: it would allow races to become co-spokesperson to align with the legal framework for campaigns for the leadership of political parties, led by the Director General of Elections. It would also resolve the issue that was raised in 2018 by PQ leader Jean-François Lisée, who accused QS of hiding its real leader, who “pulls the strings”.

To universal vote

QS was the last party to choose its leaders with constituency representatives. This way of doing things was criticized. The election of Émilise Lessard-Therrien, for example, took place during a convention in Gatineau, and several constituencies, notably in Gaspésie, had not been able to send all the delegates due to the distance and of the cost. Another argument: by asking each member to vote, we promote their “mobilization”, says Roxane Milot. It could also encourage candidates to sell membership cards, which is never bad for a political organization. This vote would be electronic, which would make the process more accessible.

QS could also remove the notion of gender from its statutes. At the moment, there is a male spokesperson and a female spokesperson, but an amendment has been proposed to make it more “inclusive,” said M.^me Milot. Internal election rules would still provide parity for women, but leave more room for people with other types of gender identity.

Place for social movements and dissolution of collectives

Québec solidaire has always identified itself as the party “of the ballot boxes and the streets”. But its members want to dust off the “complex” structure of the party, says M^me Milot. The idea: to allow a citizen who is interested in a cause, for example the environment or the fight against poverty, to become directly involved in a structure which deals with this issue. “If you want to get involved in your local association, that will always be possible, but if you want to fight for a cause, you can do it,” explains the party president. Another point that will be discussed, according to our information, is the idea of ​​abolishing “collectives”. The latter act as internal “lobbyists” to advance their cause, without being supervised. In the past, collectives like the decolonial anti-racist collective and the secularism collective had made headlines and embarrassed the party.