Quebec solidaire in crisis as leader's pragmatism provokes discontent

Quebec Solidaire Leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois came under attack on May 9, 2024 after an open letter called his 'pragmatism' into question. Nadeau Dubois is flanked by members of his caucus. Former spokesperson Emilise Lessard-Therrien, right, resigned her position just months into being elected. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Around 40 current and former employees, candidates and party members of Quebec solidaire (QS), as well as former MNA Catherine Dorion, published an open letter on Thursday morning opposing the "pragmatic" shift proposed by the party's male spokesman, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.

According to the letter's signatories, Nadeau-Dubois' vision for the future of QS is the wrong one, since the party was founded with the very idea of forming an option outside the political norm.

"To confine oneself to current parliamentary institutions and to submission to media and algorithmic demands would be the equivalent of magically waiting for a strong social movement to arise so that QS can simply relay it to the national assembly," the letter reads.

QS has been in crisis since Émilise Lessard-Therrien resigned as co-spokesperson, just a few months after being elected.

In a message explaining the reasons for her departure, she criticizes Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois' "small team of professionals."

Last week, Nadeau-Dubois argued that a complete overhaul of QS's program and structure was needed, so that it could become a "party of government."

Taking back power with both hands

In their letter, the signatories argue that this vision is misguided, and that it does not correspond to the core values of QS that made them willing to devote "time, mental burden, sweat, faith, and a great deal of determined and sincere effort."

In their opinion, adopting a "pragmatic" approach is a strategy doomed to failure since this type of positioning "is being overtaken everywhere in the West by a right-wing that isn't afraid to rouse crowds and shift the framing of political debate to the right."

"Where will this fearful choice to stay within the limits of 'pragmatism' dictated by the media and economic elites take us? Our ambition is much greater than that," they wrote.

If the signatories agree that QS must have the ambition to take power, it must not be to "quietly occupy it by passing the few bills that the dominant elites will let us pass."

"It's to rewrite from scratch a new constitution, that of an independent Quebec, in phase with the heated social movement to which we would have worked to the best of our ability. In step with the people, for once," they write.

"And it won't be done within the limits of what the media commentators or the financial gurus deem 'realistic'. It won't be done with one slick talker or one small clique. It will be done with many, many people. It's the job of bringing this huge gang together, not just at the ballot box, but in real life too, that QS needs to get down to," the letter reads.

"A difficult time"

Asked to react to the letter, QS MNA Alexandre Leduc admitted that it was a "difficult moment" for QS.

"But this isn't the first difficult debate we've had," he added at a press briefing Thursday at the Quebec legislature.

However, "we're not going to deny that we had a departure of a co-spokesperson. This is the first time this type of event has happened. We can't deny that there are questions about our impact and our dialogue with the regions," acknowledged MNA Alejandra Zaga Mendez.

"It's the first time we've experienced this at Québec solidaire. That said, I believe in our democratic bodies, and that we are capable of having this debate in the bodies that will enable us to make collective decisions," she added.

Leduc is confident that his party will emerge united from its national council, to be held at the end of May in Saguenay.

"I won't hide from you that I've already lost debates within QS as an activist and had this thought cross my mind: 'Am I still in the right place?' I think there's something healthy in that," he said.

In the past, those no longer recognized themselves in the party have left, former QS co-spokesperson Manon Massé pointed out in a press scrum.

"Some people are going to have to ask themselves questions," she said. "I remember when we firmed up our position on Quebec independence, some people were uncomfortable. They had two choices: either they stayed with us and said, 'Okay, this is one element among others, let's go for it', or they said, 'We're leaving.'"

Grumbling has been growing within the left-wing party since t Lessard-Therrien's departure. On Tuesday, the QS National Women's Commission denounced the muzzling of women and "the growing influence of non-democratically elected individuals" within the party.

Last Friday, two employees and close associates of Nadeau-Dubois quit the party.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 9, 2024.