Former Québec Solidaire MNA Émilise Lessard-Therrien resigns as party co-spokesperson

Former Québec Solidaire MNA Émilise Lessard-Therrien is stepping down from her role as party co-spokesperson just months after being elected by members.

She posted Monday a lengthy statement on Facebook, saying that she fell into "survival mode" within Québec Solidaire (QS) and struggled to "breathe new life" into the party as the female co-spokesperson.

Lessard-Therrien served as MNA for Rouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue from 2018 to 2022.

In November 2023, she became the Québec Solidaire party co-spokesperson, replacing Manon Massé. Sherbrooke MNA Christine Labrie and Mercier MNA Ruba Ghazal, who also serves as the party's education critic, were in the running.

The QS team, she wrote, was "tightly woven around the male spokesperson," Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.

Lessard-Therrien added that at times she felt "very alone" and conflicting visions for the party caused her enthusiasm to wither.

"I quickly realized that the train was already well underway," she wrote, noting that she went on sick leave at the end of March. "Four months were enough to exhaust me. Completely."

Calling the departure a "great loss" for the party, QS president Roxane Milot said in a statement published Monday that Lessard-Therrien "left her mark on Quebecers with her passion and determination."

"She helped Québec Solidaire reach new people throughout the territory and accelerate our regional shift," the statement reads.

Milot wrote that she and QS management "worked to reorganize and increase" resources to support Lessard-Therrien in her role, adding that Lessard-Therrien became co-spokesperson during a "transition period" for the party.

"We're looking forward to her return to complete the transition," Milot wrote.

Information about how the party will elect a new female spokesperson will be announced later out of respect for Lessard-Therrien, Milot wrote.