Québec solidaire (QS) is holding its conference in Montreal this weekend to lay the foundations for its election manifesto ahead of next October’s general election. Between 300 and 350 party delegates will debate various proposals covering, among other things, the cost of living, housing, the environment, education and independence. “We will leave here with an ambitious, feminist, environmentalist and pro-independence vision for society,” said spokesperson Ruba Ghazal in her opening address to party members gathered in a hall at a conference centre in downtown Montreal on Friday evening. Echoing the convention’s theme, Ghazal promised that the Solidiare platform would embody “the path of hope” for Quebec in the face of various challenges. The crises over the cost of living and public services are “not inevitable,” she argued, taking a swipe at her rivals, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), the Parti Québécois (PQ) and the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ). “This is the result of 30 years of poor political choices made by the CAQ, the PLQ and the PQ,” Ghazal stated. “And with (Éric) Duhaime’s Conservatives, we now have four shades of the right in the National Assembly.” QS will make different choices from its opponents, Ghazal declared, criticizing promises of petrol taxes that merely “put even more money in the pockets of oil companies,” or the use of the private sector to fix public services. “We won’t get different results by always making the same choices,” she remarked. Over the weekend, QS members are set to discuss measures aimed at reducing the cost of weekly groceries. Among the topics to be discussed is a proposal for “a pilot project to establish a national network of non-profit public grocery stores (food wholesalers), which will promote access to reduced-price food and prioritize local produce.” In his opening speech, spokesperson Sol Zanetti, for his part, highlighted QS’s pro-independence vision. He also criticized the CAQ’s nationalist “third way.” “What exactly has that achieved? Absolutely nothing. The CAQ puffed out its chest whilst on its knees before Ottawa. They didn’t go out and secure more powers. We’re no more autonomous, and we haven’t got any more money,” said Zanetti. The congress will also be an opportunity for QS members to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the party’s founding. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 9, 2026.
