NDP MP Boulerice is seriously considering running with Quebec Solidaire

NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice speaks during a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)

New Democratic Party (NDP) MP Alexandre Boulerice is seriously considering running with Quebec Solidaire (QS) in the 2026 elections.

The left-wing party has just voted to make an exception to its rules so that a man can run in the Gouin riding.

“It’s a serious possibility, so all options are still open. I think it’s worth considering. I have a mandate from the people of Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. I’ve been a federal MP for 15 years,” he said in a news scrum upon his arrival at the House of Commons on Monday.

When asked if he was in favour of Quebec independence, he said that he had voted Yes in 1995.

“I think it’s up to the people of Quebec to choose,” he said.

In a 2011 article in La Presse, Boulerice said he was not an independence supporter, but that he had voted for Quebec sovereignty in the second referendum.

In June 2025, QS decided that women or non-binary candidates would be required to run in the next election in ridings currently won by QS.

On Saturday, the party voted 74 per cent in favour of making an exception for the Gouin riding, currently held by former QS spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.

Last week, QS parliamentary leader Ruba Ghazal declined to confirm that this exception was specifically for Boulerice. She also assured that this would be the only exception.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 23, 2026.