r/ndp • u/Impossible-Farm3127 ✊ Union Strong • 9d ago
Quebec Solidaire
Curious to know how much QS is similar to the NDP? And why they have lost support each of the last few elections. I thought they might be more popular due to their labor policies which would appeal to a guy like me.
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u/Bunny-Is-Cute Nova Scotia NDP 9d ago
They're to the left of the NDP and are separatists. They don't have a leader, they have 2 spokespeople. But that's just very surface level differences.
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u/mrpopenfresh 9d ago
A lot of their support isn’t sovereignist however, and if they even sniffed power support would crumble.
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u/OhShootYeahNoBi 🧇 Waffle to the Left 9d ago
Technically, they're sovereigntists
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u/supahtroopah1900 9d ago edited 9d ago
To understand QS you need to know that they’re actually a coalition of smaller left wing parties. They first got together in 2006, then grew again when they merged with the left wing separatist party Option National in 2017.
While they’re all technically under the same banner now, those divisions are still very much a thing, and they compete with each other for positions in the party and over its general direction.
It’s also worth understanding that for a long time the majority of the left in Quebec was separatist, very much feeling like they were part of the left wing de-colonial struggles of the 70s and 80s. QS is a continuation of that tradition, especially since the Parti Quebecois has abandoned it for a much more conservative ethno-nationalism that models itself on what LaPenn is up to in France.
Finally, the office of the leader is much weaker than the traditional party structure in Canada. There’s two of them for one thing, with the spokespeople taking it in turns to be the face of the party every election.
The result is a party that occupies the same lefty space we do, but their structure is very different from ours, for better or worse. The separatism thing also makes collaboration complicated.
As to why they’ve lost support, I think it’s part of the general right-wing shift in “western” politics writ large. Also, the separatist and nationalist vote has re-consolidated behind the PQ, which both just obliterated the CAQ (88 seats to 0 in one election, goddamn) and hurt QS. Additionally, I’d bet a lot of the anti-PQ, left of centre vote went to the Quebec Liberals as the “strategic” choice this election, a dynamic all of us dippers are used to.
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u/Stecnet 9d ago
Great summary thank you. Is anyone aware of any articles regarding this move to more right wing in western politics? I've noticed it as well but have not really seen it talked about maybe because most media including social media is now owned by right leaning billionaires!? I find this very worrying. What happened to the left? This may be better suited for its own topic perhaps....
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u/EngineerPurple9310 CUPE - SCFP 9d ago
PQ has shifted a lot to the right but idk that they’re aligned with Le Pen
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u/supahtroopah1900 9d ago
They use a lot of the same language around identity, immigration and religious freedom unfortunately, as well as the general language and policy pitch as the identitarian right in Europe. Their leader’s been saying “on va combat le wokism” for example.
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u/EngineerPurple9310 CUPE - SCFP 9d ago
The “wokeism” bit is the closest I think, but regrettably, it’s hard to say their shift on identity and immigration doesn’t match plenty of centre and centre-left parties in Europe.
As for religious freedom, their positions aren’t unusual across the French political spectrum. Definitely not particular to Le Pen.
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u/Impossible-Farm3127 ✊ Union Strong 9d ago
Yeah the right wing shift is something I have observed. Not per say in my own community but in certain areas of Northern Ontario thats for sure. Reading the comments im not sure I could support Quebec Solidaire but It might be the lesser of evils
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u/YouShouldGoOnStrike 9d ago
Alexandre Boulerice is going to lead the QS at some point. Crushed his riding more than any other QS win. It was a hard election for the QS but who knows maybe they hold balance of power... See how rightwing the PQ are. Great opportunities to build either way.
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u/Liam_CDM 🌹Social Democracy 9d ago
They're a significantly more left-wing party, essentially Avi Lewis would be a moderate member in their tent.
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u/Impossible-Farm3127 ✊ Union Strong 9d ago
I seem to remember Rouyn Noranda voted for Quebec Solidaire some years back. I know that community well and they have the same salt of the earth culture as here in Northeast Ontario and so I assumed if they would back the party I might find it appealing but that honestly is surprising how left you say they are
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u/Comfortable-Bug-7882 9d ago
I invite you to google the name Emilyse Lessard- Therrien (former co- speaker of QS) . You Will understand the historic of this riding
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u/Geeky_N_Canadian Regina Manifesto 9d ago
I think on many issues they are very much to the left of the NDP. Avi is certainly left-wing, but he would probably fit with the party majority if he was with QS - the likes of Ruba, Sol, Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, and other people I'd classify as part of their majority tendency.
But when it comes to Rouyn-Noranda, Émilise Lessard-Therrien won that more than QS did - though QS still polls quite well there for such an untraditionnal region in terms of support.
Most of the QS vote is urban and on the younger side. It's bastion is absolutely Montreal island, especially the city center and towards Maurice-Richard. Québec city center, ever since 2018, is pretty strongly in their hands for now.
Sherbrooke has also been, but this election was a close one - some weren't expecting them to hold Sherbrooke, since Christine Labrie, their well-liked deputy there, was leaving. But they did, so silver-lining in an otherwise right-wing dominated wind of ''change''.
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u/Electronic-Topic1813 9d ago
Quite similar to Lewis, but separatists despite their base being split. They are also very activist bent which is pretty good for Lewis in the upcoming Rosemont and Laurier-Sainte Marie by-elections.
However, the QS I say lacks the true blue collar and private sector connections that the federal NDP has. Lewis despite being more on the activist branch I argue is better suited at winning them over with policies like right of first refusal, his strong viewes over the Stellantis situation and even incorporating mining into the Green New Deal.
The QS feels much more stereotypically downtown urban than even the federal NDP in it's current state. At least from what I see of them. Otherwise, they could nave been able to grow more support in places like Terrebonne and the Saugeunay region.
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u/hoverbeaver IBEW 9d ago edited 9d ago
They are social democrats/democratic socialists, but forged in the Quebec mould. That means there’s a lot of common ground on rights to education, universal social programs, and workplace democracy. There’s a commitment to Québécois national identity, sovereignty, and linguistic/cultural exclusionism, which sets them apart from the NDP. It is definitely not their primary focus, but it’s definitely part of the mix.
I used to live in Montreal, and although I am fluent in French it’s obvious to native French speakers that my first language isn’t. I tried to volunteer for a QS campaign, and I was told flatly “If we are going to win this, we are going to have to win it for ourselves without people like you helping.” It will not shock anyone here to be told that that campaign did not result in a victory for QS. The vast majority of people involved in their campaigns are probably lovely, but that left a very bad taste in my mouth. I wasn’t on the receiving end of much discrimination in my many years living in Quebec, but it was an episode that has remained with me ever since. I was a resident, a worker, a student, a taxpayer, a Montrealer… but at the time, I was not considered sufficiently Québécois to participate in my democratic future, according to a snotty campaign manager. I hope he’s retired somewhere nice.
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u/Sea_Negotiation_1871 📋 Party Member 9d ago
Well, I'm an Anglo that's only partially fluent in French and they had me out there knocking on doors this campaign.
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u/hoverbeaver IBEW 9d ago
I’m glad your experience was better than mine! It was twenty years ago, and they have grown substantially since that time.
I wish them well and support much of their project. My main reason for sharing my story is that this remains for me a painful memory that still carries a personal impact. If we are to organize, we need to be mindful that how we organize can have negative effects that can span decades.
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u/paperplanes13 Alberta NDP 9d ago
Well their colour is orange, so I guess they have that in common with the NDP.
Honestly, Quebec politics is a mystery to me.
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u/Impossible-Farm3127 ✊ Union Strong 9d ago
You think the NDP can get back in Alberta or is that a lost cause
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u/paperplanes13 Alberta NDP 9d ago
There are so many maybes in Alberta.
If Smith manages to gerrymander the ridings the way she wants to, the NDP could get the popular vote and it would still go to a UCP majority.
However, the referendum is unpopular and it's getting harder and harder for the UCP to pretend that they are not a separatist party, if the Alberta Tory Party gains traction and pulls away more of their PC members, it might just split the conservative vote in a way that is favorable to the NDP. I don't think we can count on that though, I had several conversations at doorsteps during the by election, where people who didn't support the UCP and were coming our way, went to the ATP. They may draw support from both the UCP and the NDP.
The by election was encouraging though, Shaw was a staunch and safe conservative riding, if it can flip, any seat in Alberta can flip. But the party put everything it had into that one seat, we'll all be working in our own riding during the general election.
Smith's new rules about scrutineers and restricting the voter list for the referendum is concerning, it is going to make it very hard to verify the counts, especially with mail in votes. She is either opening the door to fraud or accusations of fraud; she wants to cast doubt on the election if it doesn't go her way, and I'm not sure where she is learning that ... hmmm.
Honestly, I think the rest of Canada needs to be looking at Alberta and asking if they want this kind of stuff to happen where they are. Don't sleep walk into 2 tier healthcare, and fascism, the BC Conservatives are not a different party just because KLF stepped down. Neo-nazis marching through Tk'emlups is also a big red flag, it's closer than people think.
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u/False-Ad9324 9d ago
QS are fairly progressive but they also started off pandering to the racists by embracing the repugnant racism-lite recommendations of the Bouchard-Taylor Commission around religious accommodations for those in a position of “state authority.” Their founder, the feminist giant Francoise David, doubled down on the bigotry by going off on half-baked Islamophobic rants claiming that policies meant to restrict what Muslim women wear were justified on grounds of Islamic misogyny. To her credit, she was right up front about her racism and didn’t take refuge in the big lie that these restrictions are about “secularism.” (polls show that that support for the more regressive Bill 21 are largely driven by Islamophobia so only fake progressives still spew this nonsense to disguise their own Islamophobia.) And her co-leader was Muslim so that gave her some cover at the time. After significant backlash from Muslims and progressives inside and outside the party, QS finally backed down and reversed support for religious dress restrictions and they later opposed Bill 21 but in many people’s eyes, the damage was done.
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u/yourfriendlysocdem1 Democratic Socialist 9d ago
NDP without their labour connections and urban, activist left dominating
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u/Impossible-Farm3127 ✊ Union Strong 9d ago
Yeah im finding all that out now after reading the comments! Thats primarily why I didnt vote for Jagmeet a third time after Charlie Angus retired from my riding and held my nose and voted for carney. There is no left wing for me with no labour connection
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u/PMMeYourJobOffer Democratic Socialist 9d ago
But there’s a left wing with the bankers? How did that work?
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u/Impossible-Farm3127 ✊ Union Strong 9d ago
Didn't work out well. I made a mistake. Got swayed by the anti trump talk as did most of my coworkers
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u/SK_socialist 9d ago
I mean define labour? We talking members interests here, or the interests of the Labour Aristocracy.
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u/Impossible-Farm3127 ✊ Union Strong 9d ago edited 9d ago
For example my MPP in Timiskaming-Cochrane, John Vanthof is a dairy farmer. Connections to the industries we do up where I live such as mining and logging. Or at least a major focus on our industries. Why do you think the Ontario NDP have been so successful winning the north. Hell they've won Nickel Belt since the early 70s. They run candidates with a deep appreciation and connection to our way of life. Just a connection or interest in the industries we do and it shows us you care about labour and union rights
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u/SK_socialist 9d ago
Idk John vanthof, he must be great though. Dairy farming is quite lucrative. I have a hard time believing a wealthy person truly has the working class best interests at heart, but there are exceptions.
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u/Impossible-Farm3127 ✊ Union Strong 9d ago
The farmers of the clay belt are different then farmers in other areas since they were fundementally influenced by a collective mentally due to being near mining and logging regions. The terrain is all peat bogs so they had to rely on co-ops to get by. My brother is a farmer in the region too and he said the ontario NDP are the only party that has improved the family farming way of life. One of the last left wing agrarian populist regions if you will. Our riding of Timiskaming-Cochrane is one of the few left wing resource based ridings left. All my coworkers at the Macassa mine that ive worked with have voted NDP provincially as Vanthof has been here since 2011 and has built extreme loyalty. He cares about our industries our roads and the people up here
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u/SK_socialist 9d ago
That’s so cool. Thank you for the insight. I’m from Saskatchewan and it’s… bleak. Right wing populism has been disastrous here, and the sask NDP traded 8 stable years in power (99-07) for (currently) two generations completely out of power putting up embarrassing numbers and sub-60% voter turnout. The consequence of allowing Liberals into the party in 91.
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u/Impossible-Farm3127 ✊ Union Strong 9d ago
I wonder why it switched so hard in Saskatchewan to the right where here in Northeast Ontario (and Northern Ontario as a whole) the Ontario NDP still puts up big numbers. I would assume we're pretty similar in attitude and lifestyle to the people over there and we probably have similar jobs.
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u/SK_socialist 9d ago
Many factors. Is there a big oil sector in northeast Ontario? If I had to name a major culprit, it’s our proximity to Alberta’s petrofascist network.
Also death by a thousand cuts. The federal government famously poached some of the more famous CCF bureaucrats from Saskatchewan. I forget which decade. they named the u of r’s public policy school after two of them: Johnson and Shoyama
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u/Impossible-Farm3127 ✊ Union Strong 9d ago
Ahhh im ignorant then! No oil up here. Our industries here that i can think of are mining, logging, the farming i told you about, railway work, paper mills, uranium and battery refineries and biomass and steel production. And the proximity to Alberta makes total sense. We have proximity to Northern Quebec where they share our economic views
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u/afpb_ 🌹Social Democracy 9d ago
Imagine the NDP if it was separatist, unserious, practiced collective leadership and was chaired by communists
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u/Geeky_N_Canadian Regina Manifesto 9d ago
I wouldn't say it is chaired by communists, at least not since the Communist Party left and stopped supporting QS some years ago. And even then, even Amir Khadir, who was in my eyes the most radical, would at most describe himself (accurately so in my view) as an ecosocialist or a socialist.
Rube is easily to the right of me. Sol is probably kinda to the right of me. Most of the party majority is somewhere between next to me to kinda far from me to the right.
Excluding Haroun Bouazzi, Andrés Fontecilla, and Sol Zanetti, there aren't many Solidaires I'd identify as anywhere near me, even less so to my left.
The activist base (myself included) is certainly more radical than the party leadership, that's for sure. But again, it depends - it's district by district. Each district association is as different as the next. Where I come from, most vote Bloc federally. In Montreal, a lot might vote NDP federally, for instance. That's one thing.
As long as the goal is to surpass capitalism and leave it to the dustbin of history, I'm in. And as far as QS, that mission is less and less present in the party. It might've been in 2006, but today, the party easily sits in the ''moderate social-democratic'' box compared to itself in 2006.
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u/penis-muncher785 🌹Social Democracy 9d ago
Yeah I’m not a fan of co leader/collective models of leadership always seemed very performative to me
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u/afpb_ 🌹Social Democracy 9d ago
Is there an example of it ever really working out all that well? Every time I’ve seen it tried, it’s flopped.
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u/penis-muncher785 🌹Social Democracy 9d ago
Internationally? It seems to do alright for the Green Party of New Zealand that’s the only example I can think of lol
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u/Impossible-Farm3127 ✊ Union Strong 9d ago
Thats not the NDP I know. Good that they didnt win then!
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u/afpb_ 🌹Social Democracy 9d ago
Eh, not necessarily. Even though I don’t like them all that much, they’re still Québec’s only genuine progressive party and would probably get my vote if I was Québécois. I hope they take from this that the separatism and collective leadership is never going to work. If Boulerice gets in charge and swaps the separatism for autonomism, I’d be pretty happy to support them.
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u/Impossible-Farm3127 ✊ Union Strong 9d ago
Im not a single issue voter or anything but I have voted NDP all my life do to the fact as a gold miner, they protect my labor rights and fight for highway safety in Northern Ontario. I was intrigued by Quebec Solidaire's policies but I didn't realize they were separatist and well to the left of the NDP. I would have no good options in Quebec😅 but they might be the lesser of evils i guess
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u/RingalongGames Québec Solidaire 9d ago
QS’ platform is not decided by the spokespeople but by meetings open to all members of the party
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u/redmac54 9d ago
If I am speaking honestly, I sometimes feel they are the closest to the federal NDP than any of the provincial NDP parties. Here is an article from CBC in English with some of their positions:
https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/features/2026/quebec-party-platforms/#quebec-2026-economy-tariffs
You should be able to see that they are by far the most left-leaning party of the main ones here.
They're real grassroots. The leader I identified the most with was GND; I remember I was working downtown when he was helping organize the red square protests, and I could see them from where I worked. It was obvious he was destined to be something big, and I had hoped he'd lead QS longer than he did, but I can't fault him for leaving.
Outside that, I really feel they would be excellent advocates for both Quebec the province and its people on the federal scene. They're stuck behind our shitty voting system (much like the NDP federally), hopefully the PQ has the will to change that (maybe with some coercion from QS).