By The Canadian Press

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, Quebec student activist turned political leader, stepping down

Mar 20, 2025 | 12:18 PM

MONTREAL — Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, co-spokesperson of the left-wing Québec solidaire party who rose to prominence during the 2012 student strike, is stepping down from the party’s leadership team.

Fighting back tears as he spoke to reporters in Montreal Thursday, Nadeau-Dubois announced he was resigning from his roles as co-spokesperson and house leader but will remain as a member of the national assembly until the next election, scheduled for October 2026.

“I am announcing today that I will be leaving political life at the end of my mandate as an MNA,” said the 34-year-old, who had just returned from a three-month paternity leave.

“The last two years have not only been tough for Québec solidaire. They’ve been tough for me too,” he said, referring to a string of internal crises that have divided the party. “The momentum that has carried me for 15 years has stopped. I’m worn out. I can’t go on under these circumstances now that I’m the father of two children.”

Nadeau-Dubois became a household name in Quebec during the 2012 student movement against tuition increases, appearing regularly on television and participating in high-profile negotiations with the Liberal government of the day. He was 21 at the time, and by the age of 26 he had a seat in the legislature. He was re-elected in the 2018 and 2022 provincial elections and assumed an increasingly prominent role for Québec solidaire.

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But in the past year, the party has been wracked by internal divisions. Last April, Émilise Lessard-Therrien resigned a few months after being elected co-spokesperson, pointing to Nadeau-Dubois’ team as one reason for her departure. In May, 40 current and former party members and candidates of Québec solidaire published an open letter accusing Nadeau-Dubois of being too “pragmatic.”

On Monday, the party’s candidate in Monday’s byelection in a Montreal suburb received less than five per cent of the vote, and media outlets reported that she complained she had received little support from the party.

“Criticism is a part of politics. When you get into politics you know there will be some,” Nadeau-Dubois said Thursday. “But when it comes from … the people around you, behind you in your party, it certainly hurts more. And yes, that played a role in my decision.”

While ruling out running for federal or municipal office, he said he would continue fighting for progressive causes.

“At a time when the radical right is gaining ground all around us, Quebecers deserve a united left-wing party with a new lease on life,” he said, adding that his departure will allow a new leader to emerge.

Ruba Ghazal, the other co-spokesperson for Québec solidaire, thanked Nadeau-Dubois on the social media platform X.

“He may no longer be our spokesperson, but his fights remain our fights at Québec solidaire: free education, environmental protection, feeding children in our schools, an ethical government that governs in the interests of the people rather than the economic elites.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2025.

Joe Bongiorno, The Canadian Press