Québec solidaire: A Left-of-the-Left Formation?

The first decade of the 21st century has seen the rise of new ‘left of the left’ formations in several Western countries. The best known cases are the Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste (NPA) in France and Die Linke (The Left) in Germany. These new parties share some common traits: they are based on an explicit rejection of the institutional left in their respective countries, take a good deal of inspiration from the post-Seattle anti-globalization movement and exhibit a coalition character with membership drawn from several social and political movements (feminist, ecological, antiwar, far left, libertarians, community groups).

Québec solidaire (QS), though not as well-known as the NPA or Die Linke, shares a surprising number of traits with these formations. This includes a growing electoral presence which irks and worries the party fulfilling the role of the ‘institutional left’ in Quebec, the sovereignist Parti québécois (PQ).

Québec solidaire: A Left-of-the-Left Formation?