Québec Solidaire Unveils Affordability Platform with Rent Control and Grocery Profit Caps
As the provincial election approaches in October, Québec Solidaire has positioned affordability as the central pillar of its campaign platform. The left-wing sovereigntist party, currently polling at approximately nine percent and ranking fifth among major parties, announced a series of measures aimed at addressing the rising cost of living that impacts Quebec households.
Three Key Proposals to Tackle Living Costs
Following a closed-door caucus meeting in Montreal, co-spokespersons Ruba Ghazal and Sol Zanetti detailed three specific election promises designed to provide economic relief:
- Elimination of provincial sales tax on hygiene products including toilet paper and shampoo, removing the 9.975-per-cent Quebec sales tax while the federal five percent tax would remain.
- Rent control tied directly to inflation that would replace the current system where landlords can propose increases above Tribunal administratif du logement guidelines.
- Profit margin restrictions for major grocery retailers capped at two percent, requiring corporations to "open their books" for transparency.
"We at Québec solidaire are the only ones to talk about the cost of living," Ghazal asserted during the announcement. "Do you hear the other parties talking about it?"
Rent Control Overhaul and Corporate Accountability
The proposed rent control system represents a significant departure from current regulations. Under existing rules, landlords can suggest increases and tenants must either accept or reject them, with disputes potentially escalating to the Tribunal administratif du logement. Although the tribunal provides guidelines based on three-year average cost of living indices, landlords frequently request and receive approvals for increases exceeding these benchmarks.
"Those suggestions aren't followed," Zanetti criticized. "It's not an effective rent control." The Québec Solidaire proposal would require landlords seeking increases above inflation rates to petition the tribunal directly, creating what the party describes as a more equitable system for tenants.
Regarding grocery profits, Ghazal expressed frustration with corporate practices: "I'm fed up with us continuing to allow billionaires and multinationals to enrich themselves while the middle class becomes poorer." She specifically identified real-estate speculators and grocery conglomerates as beneficiaries of current affordability challenges.
Political Context and Sovereignty Stance
The affordability platform emerges during what Ghazal describes as a "period of transition" for Québec Solidaire. The party has experienced recent leadership changes including the March 2025 resignation of co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois and former co-spokesperson Manon Massé's decision not to seek re-election. Additionally, MNA Vincent Marissal's November defection to the Parti Québécois represented a significant setback.
Despite these challenges and current polling standing behind the Parti Québécois, Liberals, Conservatives, and Coalition Avenir Québec, Ghazal remains optimistic about voter engagement. "People are getting to know us. I know they're starting to like us," she noted, referencing planned campaigning in Chicoutimi ahead of a February byelection.
While emphasizing affordability as the immediate priority, Québec Solidaire maintains its sovereigntist orientation. Zanetti clarified that independence remains equally important to economic issues, distinguishing the party's approach from the Parti Québécois by proposing constitutional development and consultations before any referendum. "If we stay in Canada, in Mark Carney's Canada or whoever's Canada, we will get pipelines passing through our territory," he warned, connecting sovereignty to environmental concerns.
The co-spokesperson also commented on recent political exchanges, describing PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon's rebuttal to Prime Minister Mark Carney's characterization of the Plains of Abraham as "intense" while noting widespread disapproval of what he called Carney's "revisionist" historical interpretation.
As the election season progresses, Québec Solidaire intends to maintain focus on what Ghazal terms "the issues that are affecting Quebecers in their daily lives," positioning the party as uniquely attentive to both monthly financial pressures and longer-term constitutional questions.
