Former MP Émilise Lessard-Therrien is in the running to try to be elected this fall as co-spokesperson for Québec solidaire (QS), in order to bring the “voice of the regions” there.
“QS already has deep roots in cities, but I think it’s high time to plant them in rural and remote areas. And I feel like that’s a lot of what I embody,” said the MP for Rouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue from 2018 to 2022. Since Ms.me Lessard-Therrien in the general elections of October 3, the political party only has elected members in Montreal, Quebec and Sherbrooke.
At the end of “intense reflections”, the 31-year-old woman therefore finally embarks on the race to be female co-spokesperson for her party. In the next Quebec elections, in 2026, Quebec solidaire must propose “a political offer in which all of Quebec will be able to recognize itself”, she argues in a telephone interview with the Duty, her voice interrupted by the clucking of the chickens she is raising. Access to public services in remote regions is also one of its priorities.
During a vote that will take place during the QS congress from November 24 to 26, she will therefore try to succeed Manon Massé. The latter announced in mid-May that she would not be seeking a new mandate as co-spokesperson next fall, but that she would nevertheless remain a member of parliament.
The elected representative in the Montreal riding of Mercier, Ruba Ghazal, announced two weeks ago that she was launching the race, telling The Canadian Press that she wanted to make independence, language and culture her major themes.
Christine Labrie, who is the solidarity MP for Sherbrooke, said for her part that she was still thinking.
Get inspired by Manon Massé
For meme Lessard-Therrien, who has been active in the party since 2014, there is no question of trying to “replace” Mme Mass. Rather, she wishes to draw inspiration from it. “I think what we have in common, Manon and I, is the field, the love of people and the love of being close to the world”, underlines the mother of two girls aged two and five. years.
If she is elected co-spokesperson, the resident and native of Duhamel-Ouest, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, believes that not being a member of the National Assembly would be an advantage for her. “It’s actually a great availability that I will have to be in the field and to walk in the different regions to really be on the lookout for the field and to be close to the social movements which are everywhere in the territory. »
From the very beginning, Émilise Lessard-Therrien says that she wanted to participate in civic life thanks to artists, and not to politicians. “As a teenager, I was fueled by listening to Les Cowboys Fringants, Vulgaires Machins, Loco Locass. I have the impression that it was above all the Quebec artists who politicized me,” she says.
Debates of ideas and visions
Mme Lessard-Therrien looks favorably on the debates that will take place during the race. “If it can ensure that the Quebec population has access to discussions of ideas and visions, it can be very interesting and enriching. Maybe that can make people cling to politics because all of a sudden, they recognize themselves in candidates. »
The race, which will be officially launched on August 25, will result in a 13-week campaign. To be a candidate, it will be necessary to be a member in good standing of the party, in addition to having collected 500 signatures from members coming from six regions and 20 different constituencies.
The current male co-spokesperson, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, has confirmed that he will seek a new mandate next fall. He is the parliamentary leader of the party as well as the member for Gouin, in Montreal. Given that Émilise Lessard-Therrien wants to embody the voice of the regions, she considers that they are therefore “complementary”.
In addition to regionalization, she wants to put the issue of the protection of the territory and access to it at the heart of her campaign. “There are people who fight to keep small pieces of territory, to make parks, to have access to bodies of water”, she underlines.
The latter pleads in favor of “sovereignties”, that is to say that of Quebec, but also that of the regions, cities and Aboriginal nations. “I am an ardent campaigner to regain power in all instances, so that people can get started and can participate in the decisions that concern them,” she says vigorously.