Ruba Ghazal wants Québec solidaire to make inroads in the suburbs

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QUEBEC CITY – If it is to continue to advance, Québec solidaire (QS) must court people who live in the suburbs and who work in private-sector factories and plants says Ruba Ghazal, a candidate to become the party’s next co-spokesperson.

The party’s showing during the provincial general election last fall was disappointing and QS failed to boost its support in the Oct. 2 byelection in the Jean-Talon riding of Quebec City.

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In an interview with La Presse Canadienne, Ghazal said that there is substantive work to do, not only in the regions but also in the suburbs, which she said have been neglected for too long by her party.

It’s where a majority of workers in private-sector factories live, she said. The 45-year-old candidate is herself from the suburbs and says she is best placed to court suburban dwellers.

“I have 15 years of experience as a manager … in manufacturing plants in Montreal’s suburbs … These people … don’t want their businesses shaken up too much,” she said.

“The perception of these workers, mainly if they work industries that pollute, is that we will cause them to lose their jobs … that we will attack their suburban lifestyle.”

Ghazal, who grew up in Laval, says this is not her intention.. She thinks that she has the right profile to “connect” with people who are downright “afraid” of her party or find it “too idealistic.”

“I am the only one who can make this connection by virtue of my work experience …  and I come from the suburbs.”

Her opponents in the race, Christine Labrie and Émilise Lessard-Therrien, are associated respectively with the city (Sherbrooke) and a rural region (Abitibi-Témiscamingue).

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Suburbanites also want “a healthy environment, pure air for their children, to be in nature” and public transit, said Ghazal, who believes she has found a way to connect with them.

She uses the example of the Communauto car-sharing service. “The government could make it so that there were all sort of transportation … that way, people could have one less car,” she said.

Québec solidaire is not only “métros and tramways,” she said.

During last fall’s election campaign, the party proposed taxing vehicles that pollute, which drew avalanche of criticism. The party has since said it would re-consider this proposal.

The QS lost percentage points in 45 rural or suburban ridings in the last election.

Ghazal, whose slogan is “for a national spokesperson,” said she proposes getting rid of the party’s label of “party for young people” and go find Generation X, those aged 35 to 55.

“In less than five years from now, I will be 50 … There is potential in seeking them out a bit more. They live in the suburbs, they work in businesses like the one in which I worked,” she said.

Despite the fact that he did not succeed in making significant gains in 2022, QS co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, whom Ghazal calls “the best speaker of his generation,” remains the best placed person to do this groundwork, according to Ghazal.

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The Mercier MNA, who said she places sovereignty at the heart of her political action, says she is the only candidate to have published a formal platform.

La Presse Canadienne reported last week that Christine Labrie was the first to file her candidacy, with 500 signatures from six regions and 20 ridings.

“I find it very motivating to have succeeded in getting these signatures so quickly,” Labrie said. Is the Ghazal camp behind in the race? “Not at all,” said Ghazal.

“I started to make a tally and there are many people who are still hesitating … People are telling us: ‘Ah, if we could clone all three of you and make one, we would be really happy,’” she said.

A first candidates’ debate is planned for Oct. 29 in Trois-Rivières.

Québec solidaire’s new female co-spokesperson will be elected at the party’s congress, to take place Nov, 24 to 26 in Gatineau. The winner will replace Manon Massé, who recently underwent heart surgery.

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