{"id":503402,"date":"2026-02-27T16:34:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T16:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/503402\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T16:34:09","slug":"a-grassroots-dream-at-a-crossroads-as-quebec-solidaire-looks-back-on-20-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/503402\/","title":{"rendered":"A grassroots dream at a crossroads as Qu\u00e9bec Solidaire looks back on 20 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Formed by activists and politicians, Qu\u00e9bec Solidaire was labelled a grassroots movement focused on social justice, feminism and the environment when it entered the province\u2019s political arena in 2006.<\/p>\n

It rejected formal leaders in favour of two co-spokespeople \u2014 one woman and one man. The party carried that progressive approach right into Quebec\u2019s National Assembly, quickly gaining devoted followers and voters largely in the Montreal region.<\/p>\n

But 20 years later and with an election now months away, that momentum has stalled.<\/p>\n

In 2008, voters elected Amir Khadir as the party\u2019s first member of the National Assembly. Today, he still remembers the excitement \u2014 it was if the party had won a majority, he told CBC News. <\/p>\n

In 2012, the party added a second MNA, co-spokesperson Fran\u00e7oise David. In 2014, Manon Mass\u00e9 won a third seat.<\/p>\n

Mass\u00e9 later became co-spokesperson alongside Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, one of the faces of the 2012 student strike. He joined the party in 2017 and won a byelection in Gouin.<\/p>\n

WATCH | Qu\u00e9bec Solidaire faces uncertainty after 2 decades:\"\"<\/p>\n

After 20 years, is Qu\u00e9bec Solidaire still relevant in the province\u2019s politics?<\/p>\n

Two decades since its creation, Qu\u00e9bec Solidaire has had several landmark moments. But the progressive party\u2019s support seems to have stalled in recent years. Climate change worries fuel momentum<\/p>\n

At the same time, the party benefited from rising concern about climate change.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost 500,000 people gathered in the streets of Montreal to support the action of Greta Thunberg and environmental issues and climate change,\u201d said Khadir.<\/p>\n

Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Daoust, a political science professor at the Universit\u00e9 de Sherbrooke, said the party is perceived to be the party best able to handle environmental issues and said climate concerns contributed to the party\u2019s rise in 2018.<\/p>\n

In the 2018 election, the party expanded its base in Montreal and Quebec City, winning 10 seats and becoming the third-largest party in the legislature.<\/p>\n

In 2022, the party won 11 seats and finished second in the popular vote, but now Qu\u00e9bec Solidaire is facing a new reality.<\/p>\n

\"woman\"Longtime MNA and former co-spokesperson Manon Mass\u00e9 urges supporters to keep fighting, insisting the party’s vision for Quebec is still viable. (Charles Contant\/CBC)Ruba Ghazal looks ahead<\/p>\n

Early 2026 polls suggest the party would win only a handful of seats if an election were held today.<\/p>\n

Ruba Ghazal, Qu\u00e9bec Solidaire\u2019s current co-spokesperson, admits there are challenges ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always had challenges in 2006, in 2016 and also today,\u201d she said, saying that’s par for the course as a left-wing party.<\/p>\n

Ghazal said the party\u2019s values and convictions \u201care more important than ever today.\u201d To that, Khadir adds the party is more relevant than ever because of the rising ultra-right movement.<\/p>\n

Mass\u00e9 said the upcoming election won’t be easy, but it is not time for the party to drop its guard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can do it,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have to choose it and that’s why I’m fine. I’m still fighting with Qu\u00e9bec Solidaire.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-503402","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}