Quebec Solidaire Congress: Ruba Ghazal officially becomes co-spokesperson

Québec solidaire MNA Ruba Ghazal at question period on Oct. 29, 2024. Québec solidaire delegates will officially appoint Ruba Ghazal as the party's female co-spokesperson at a special virtual convention this weekend. (The Canadian Press/Jacques Boissinot)

Québec solidaire (QS) delegates are set to officially appoint Ruba Ghazal as the party’s female co-spokesperson during a special virtual congress this weekend.

The Mercier MNA is the sole candidate to succeed Émilise Lessard-Therrien, who resigned last spring citing conflicts with the inner circle of male co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.

Ghazal, who identifies as a child of Bill 101, will be formally appointed on Saturday evening.

She steps into the role as Nadeau-Dubois temporarily steps away for a three-month parental leave.

During this time, she will take on the task of questioning Premier François Legault during the daily question period in the National Assembly.

Of Palestinian descent and born in Lebanon, Ruba Ghazal is a founding member of QS.

First elected as Mercier MNA in 2018 and re-elected in 2022, she currently handles files related to education, the French language, and women’s issues.

Addressing delegates on Friday evening, she said, “I want QS to embody a nationalist discourse that is inclusive, modern, and unifying. As the only left-wing party, we have a responsibility to do so.”

Reform of internal rules

Delegates at the congress will also review the party’s bylaws, including a proposal to designate one of the two co-spokespersons as QS leader under electoral law.

Currently, QS’s general secretary holds the legal status of “leader.”

The proposed change would allow co-spokesperson candidates to hold “real” leadership campaigns and fundraise for their efforts.

According to the party, the reform would not alter the roles of co-spokespersons, and the “leader” would not automatically become the parliamentary leader.

For now, Nadeau-Dubois serves as QS parliamentary leader, asking questions in the National Assembly and participating in leaders’ debates during election campaigns.

“We're keeping the equal and democratic co-leadership that is our strength,” said QS spokesperson Charles Castonguay.

“If the reform passes at the congress, the Directeur général des élections du Québec (DGEQ) will allow us to run campaigns with more funding and member participation,” he added.

Delegates will also vote on proposals to elect co-spokespersons through universal suffrage and allow internal referendums.

At the provincial level, QS appears to have lost ground over the past two years.

According to the polling aggregator Qc125, QS is currently in fourth place behind the Parti Québécois (PQ), the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), and the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) in voter intentions.

If a general election were held today, QS would secure only nine seats, down from 12 in 2022, according to Qc125.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 15, 2024.