![\"Manon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/manon.jpg\")
\u201cWe made a lot of gains for ordinary people,\u201d says Manon Mass\u00e9. \u201cThat gave me a lot of joy.\u201d Francis Vachon \/ Postmedia News<\/p>\nQUEBEC \u2014 When the National Assembly adjourned Friday for the last time ahead of October\u2019s election, many parliamentarians were sharpening their swords for what\u2019s expected to be a hard-fought election campaign.<\/p>\n
But others were hanging up their skates, offering tearful goodbyes as they prepared their exit from Quebec\u2019s political fray.<\/p>\n
In the opposition rows, Qu\u00e9bec solidaire\u2019s Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois and Manon Mass\u00e9 were hugging. As the party\u2019s co-spokespeople through the last two elections, the pair had brought the left-wing movement mainstream, winning 10 seats in 2018 and 11 in 2022.<\/p>\n
Both have said they won\u2019t run in the coming election.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe made a lot of gains for ordinary people,\u201d says Manon Mass\u00e9. \u201cThat gave me a lot of joy.\u201d Francis Vachon \/ Postmedia News<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve reached the end,\u201d Mass\u00e9 said in an interview, surrounded by packed boxes in her third-floor office. \u201cI\u2019ve been here 12 years and I\u2019m leaving feeling that I did what I have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe made a lot of gains for ordinary people,\u201d she said. \u201cThat gave me a lot of joy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Much of those gains came in the form of opposing the Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s agenda, Mass\u00e9 said.<\/p>\n
In recent days, the governing CAQ abandoned three bills opposed by Qu\u00e9bec solidaire: a widely criticized constitution bill<\/a>, a housing co-op reform<\/a> protested by co-op residents, and a bill to accelerate approvals for major projects, which environmental groups critiqued.<\/p>\n But Mass\u00e9 said she was most proud to have advocated for Indigenous people, who she said are rarely considered in the National Assembly. \u201cBy walking beside people \u2026 I saw how much systemic racism affected them,\u201d she said, arguing that reconciliation still had a long way to go.<\/p>\n Nadeau-Dubois said he\u2019d learned a lot from Mass\u00e9.<\/p>\n \u201cTalk less; listen more\u201d was the biggest lesson, he said. \u201cHaving spent time with Manon all those years, she really influenced me.\u201d<\/p>\n Nadeau-Dubois was just 22 in 2012, when he entered the political scene as the head of Quebec\u2019s student movement.<\/p>\n Four years later, former co-spokesperson Fran\u00e7oise David was calling him, asking him to run for the party. \u201cThings went fast for me at that point,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been quite a ride.\u201d<\/p>\n His biggest accomplishment, he said, was \u201cin getting a lot of people, especially young people, interested in politics.\u201d<\/p>\n As a party founded by activists, some have suggested<\/a> that Qu\u00e9bec solidaire faces a conflict between its activist base and its ambition to form government.<\/p>\n \u201cThat tension has always existed in Qu\u00e9bec solidaire,\u201d Mass\u00e9 said. \u201cWhen we were founded, there were people whose objective was that we remain an opposition party \u2026 for others, it was to govern as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a healthy tension,\u201d she argued.<\/p>\n Now at the bottom of the polls with 11 per cent support, Mass\u00e9 said she didn\u2019t take the numbers too seriously. Many voters aren\u2019t yet paying attention to the choices in front of them, she said.<\/p>\n Until the election, \u201cI won\u2019t confirm the hypothesis that we are just at 11 per cent.\u201d<\/p>\n Parties should loosen their grip: Chassin<\/p>\n Independent MNA Youri Chassin offered his own tearful goodbye Friday, choking up as he thanked fellow legislators for time well spent.<\/p>\n \u201cI love you so much and we will certainly cross paths again in our lives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n![\"Gabriel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/gnd.jpg\")
\u201cIt\u2019s been quite a ride,\u201d says departing MNA Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. Francis Vachon \/ Postmedia News<\/p>\n![\"Youri](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Paule-Gauthier-8.jpg\")
\u201cThere have been no free votes in the legislature,\u201d says independent MNA Youri Chassin. \u201cI find that odd.\u201d Francis Vachon \/ Postmedia News<\/p>\n