Quebec Solidaire MNA Christine Labrie already ready to be aspirant premier

Quebec Solidaire MNA Christine Labrie questions the government as the National Assembly resumes, Tuesday, January 31, 2023 at the legislature in Quebec City. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

The race to succeed Manon Massé is not yet over, but Christine Labrie says she is already ready to aspire to the post of premier in 2026. At the same time, she says she is the best person to lead her party out of the margins.

Before entering the race to become co-spokesperson for Quebec Solidaire (QS), Labrie said she asked herself whether she was ready to be a candidate for the post of premier in 2026 if the members so decided.

"The answer is yes, otherwise I wouldn't be running," she told The Canadian Press in an interview.

Labrie insists that she has what it takes to broaden her party's base, which has plateaued since the last elections.

"Of all the caucus, I'm the one who increased my support the most between 2018 and 2022," said Labrie.

According to the Elections Quebec website, Labrie received 12,315 votes in 2018 and 15,548 in 2022, an increase of more than 3,000 votes.

Former Rouyn-Noranda--Témiscamingue MNA Émilise Lessard-Therrien and Mercier Solidaire MNA Ruba Ghazal are also in the running to replace Massé.

Ghazal had around 1,000 fewer votes between the two elections, and Émilise Lessard-Therrien was defeated in 2022.

"The biggest challenge facing QS at the moment is to break out of its usual electorate and stop plateauing at 15-16 per cent," argued Labrie.

The 35-year-old says that the typical QS voter is someone who is already politically committed and has a higher-than-average level of education.

"I want us to give ourselves a mandate to broaden beyond that," she said. "That means talking to people who are not necessarily already involved in social movements or citizen struggles. People who are experiencing issues in their family or professional life but who may be too much in survival mode to be politically involved."

Labrie believes that her approach to politics is attracting people outside Solidaire circles.

"People who used to vote for another party, or who voted for the CAQ in 2018 and put their trust in me in 2022, appreciate the way I work with people and the tone I set," she said.

NOT THERE TO BE A 'DECORATIVE ACCESSORY'

If she is chosen as co-spokesperson to succeed Massé, Labrie intends to make a greater impact within her party.

"I am not entering this race to become a decorative accessory," said the candidate.

Some party members have criticized QS for putting less emphasis on Massé than on Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois during the last election.

Labrie -- who is already thinking about the 2026 elections -- said that if she is elected, she intends to campaign alongside Nadeau-Dubois on the QS bus.

"Of course, I want to take up more space than was given to the co-spokesperson who was not parliamentary leader in recent years," said Labrie, summing up her thoughts.

The race to succeed Massé began on Aug. 25. The new Solidaire spokeswoman will be elected at the party's convention on Nov. 24-26.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 10, 2023.