Ruba Ghazal will be Québec solidaire’s (QS) candidate for premier and will participate in the leaders’ debate during the next provincial election in 2026.
QS members confirmed Ghazal’s selection at a convention in Québec City on Sunday, after new co-spokesperson Sol Zanetti announced on Saturday that he was stepping aside to make way for her.
Both spokespersons made Quebec independence the central theme of their speeches throughout the weekend.
They advocated for a “welcoming sovereignty,” different from that of Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s Parti Québécois (PQ), which they consider too “insular.”
“There is another vision of independence that is possible,” Ghazal said in a speech to activists on Sunday morning.
“I hear Paul St-Pierre Plamondon talk about immigration and I see a ‘Yes’ camp being built that is exclusionary and closed in on itself,” Ghazal said.
“If the PQ bus is too small, (…) we at QS will rent orange trains. There’s room for everyone on our orange trains!” she said to applause.
At a press conference in Montreal on Sunday, St-Pierre Plamondon responded to QS, stating that “there will never be a merger or agreement between QS and the PQ.”
“These are two parties that have their place and will submit an offer to the voters. The only person who decides in Quebec is the voter. There will be no messing around,” he said.
“And even if Sol Zanetti is sincere in his desire for independence, can we put independence ahead of partisan attacks that are harmful to the social climate?” added St-Pierre Plamondon.
The day before, in his victory speech, Zanetti had attacked the PQ and the Coalition Avenir Québec, without naming them.
“Laws that ban religious symbols and drastic reductions in permanent immigration that will separate families for years are policies rooted in prejudice and fear. We must understand these prejudices and address these fears with compassion. But we must collectively overcome them,” he said.
On Saturday, the member for Jean-Lesage succeeded Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois as co-spokesperson for QS.
He won 50.4 per cent of the votes cast by party members, winning in the first round ahead of Etienne Grandmont (37.96 per cent) and Yv Bonnier Viger (9.2 per cent).
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
