Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, a student activist known for his leadership role during the 2012 Quebec student protests, announced Thursday he’s joining Quebec Solidaire.
“Because I am a leftist, because I am a sovereigntist and because it is time, really time, to put a pass of the political impasse in Quebec,” he said.
“Quebec Solidaire is the only party where I really feel at home.”
He addressed the media in both English and French at the Pointe-à-Callière museum in Montreal’s Old Port.
READ MORE: Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois ready for ‘political action’
Nadeau-Dubois explained he plans to run as spokesperson of the party, as well as vie for the party’s nomination in Françoise David‘s now-vacant Gouin riding.
READ MORE: Supreme Court of Canada agrees to hear Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois appeal
David, one of founders of the left-wing sovereigntist party, resigned in January for health reasons.
Nadeau-Dubois said he made the decision after a”long and deep reflection.”
“The political class, which has ruled us in Quebec for 30 years, must be removed from power,” he said.
“This political class has betrayed Quebec. It always puts its friends — the big corporations, the engineering firms before the people of Quebec. In power or not, whether red or blue, it always makes the same choices.”
Quebec’s maple spring
During the “Maple Spring” protests, Nadeau-Dubois was a co-spokesperson of the Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (CLASSE), a coalition of student associations opposed to the $1,625 tuition hike introduced by Jean Charest’s government.
READ MORE: Quebec’s ‘Maple Spring’: An isolated event, or dawn of youth power in politics?
In summer 2012, he admitted that he was “psychologically tired” and announced he would quit his position as co-spokesperson at the end of the strike, citing “both internal and external pressure.”
READ MORE: Québec Solidaire Leader Françoise David announces she’s quitting politics
Now that David has stepped down, Quebec Solidaire currently holds two seats in the National Assembly.
The byelection in Gouin is expected to take place some time this year.
rachel.lau@globalnews.ca
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