A distinctly Quebec affair: The province’s election is like nowhere else in Canada
MONTREAL — At a downtown Montreal hotel last week, Quebec solidaire co-spokesperson Manon Masse looked out at members of the city’s business community and calmly declared she wanted a revolution.
Across Canada, many political parties at the provincial and federal level have less-than-mainstream views. But in Quebec, Masse’s “revolutionary” party held three seats in the legislature at dissolution, has a good chance of winning more on Oct. 1 and has become a fixture in televised leaders’ debates.
In a campaign where sovereignty is not a defining issue, the prominence of Quebec solidaire is just one example of how the election remains a distinctly Quebec affair. Issues of Quebec identity have dominated the campaign. There is broad consensus on the need to cut carbon emissions. And none of the main parties can be considered traditionally conservative.
Masse’s Sept. 19 speech was the first time a Quebec solidaire leader had been invited to address the Montreal Board of Trade, the embodiment of the capitalism her party pledges “to leave behind.” Board president Michel Leblanc got right to the point, asking her if her party is “socialist revolutionary.”