New party on provincial landscape

A new left-leaning political party arrived on the scene during a weekend convention. Quebec Solidaire is made up of two former political parties — Option Citoyenne and Union Des Forces Progressistes.

There are nine woman and seven men on the new party's organizing committee. Four come from ethnic communities.

Organizer Françoise David says the group represents much of what the party stands for: diversity and feminism.

She says it's a refreshing change, and that's what voters are looking for.

David says Quebec Solidaire has the potential to attract anglophone voters, even though it believes in Quebec sovereignty.

"Our first goal is social justice," David says. "We are also ecologist, we are feminist. You don't have to be really sovereignist to be with us."

The party's other spokesperson, Amir Khadir, says Quebec Solidaire's structure will appeal to voters who are fed up with the traditional approach to political parties. He says Quebec Solidaire doesn't have a leader.

"[Voters] are fed up with the cult of personality, for example, where all the power is in the hand of the chief," Khadir says. "They want a party that will be more democratic."

Khadir says now the party is preparing for a forthcoming byelection in Montreal's Sainte-Marie-Saint-Jacques riding. He says in order to establish its credibility, Quebec Solidaire will have to attract a good portion of the vote.