Two months after her departure, Émilise Lessard-Therrien pleads to “bring new blood” into the upper echelons of Québec solidaire (QS), in order to distance the party from political strategies which, in the past, have “not bore fruit.”
For the first time since she slammed the door of the left party at the end of April, the former solidarity spokesperson spoke to the media on Wednesday to discuss the reasons for her defection .
In interview with The duty, she made a point of clarifying that her criticisms were in no way aimed at her ex-colleague spokesperson, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, with whom she is disappointed for having had a “lack of complicity”, but with whom she does not maintain “no hostility”. “It goes beyond Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois,” she said on the other end of the phone on Wednesday.
When announcing her departure on April 29, the former member for Rouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue deplored her inability to “plunge her roots into the leadership of the party.” In a long message, she said in particular that she was up against “a small team […] tightly woven” around “GND”.
Two months later, she clarified her thoughts: the avenues taken in recent years in the highest levels of the political party are simply ineffective, she notes.
“The first thing that is necessary is to take stock of what has been done since the role reversal between Manon [Massé] and Gabriel. Did the strategies that were put in place take us where we wanted to go? I think the answer, obviously, is no,” she says. “The lack of results is a bit of the elephant in the room. »
In the 2022 elections, with Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois as candidate for prime minister, QS lost 15,000 votes compared to the previous election. Since then, in the polls, the party has obtained between 12% and 19% of voting intentions. The most recent survey from the Léger firm gave him 14%.
Without calling at the start of “GND”, Mme Lessard-Therrien invites the party to “bring fresh air” into its management team. “Since Manon took a step back, it’s normal that everything has been orchestrated a bit around male leadership. So there, we need to bring in new blood, that’s for sure,” she says.
The former solidarity spokesperson did not specify what she meant by “new blood”. However, she recalled that the race for the election of her successor would conclude in November. Subsequently, solidarity activists will have to choose their candidate for the post of prime minister, who will also have the opportunity to participate in the leaders’ debates.
“The decision of the aspiring prime minister is a decision of the members. But there has to be change. There has to be change if we want to aspire to have different results,” she insists.
“Pragmatic”, the Saguenay Declaration?
In the midst of a crisis at the beginning of May after the departure of his co-spokesperson, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois pleaded with journalists for his party to “modernize” by adopting a more “pragmatic” posture. This operation, he said, would involve the adoption, in Jonquière, of the Saguenay Declaration and the overhaul of the QS program.
In the national council, at the end of May, party members indeed gave their approval to the Saguenay Declaration, in addition to opting for an “update” of the program. But Émilise Lessard-Therrien refuses to see this as support for the “pragmatism” of “GND”.
“These were projects that were already underway, that had already been initiated,” says the 32-year-old ex-politician. “I think there may have been a little distortion of what it was originally intended to be to serve the needs of the moment. »
“I’m not sure that’s the definition of pragmatism, either. »
A future in politics?
As for her, Émilise Lessard-Therrien has benefited in recent weeks from “ [s] es lands”. “I started my flour mill again!” » she quips, when asked about her professional future.
The former solidarity spokesperson still has her membership card, but will follow QS activities “from afar”, she says. When The duty asked if she is giving up on active politics, she says yes… but only for 2026. “Let’s say that I am not looking for opportunities in partisan politics,” she says.
Five months before the choice of a new spokesperson, Mme Lessard-Therrien is delighted that MP Ruba Ghazal, whom she had beaten by three small votes at the November 2023 election congress, is entering the race again. “I think she has undeniable qualities,” she emphasizes. “I am very happy to see that she still has the appetite, that she still has this enthusiasm to try to do better with the party. »
For the rest, she leaves QS to its internal debates. “I don’t want to play mother-in-law,” she said.