MONTRÉAL – Ruba Ghazal is entering her first campaign as spokesperson for of Québec solidaire. She’s at the head of a brand-new slate, as veterans Manon Massé and Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois have been replaced by Ghazal and Sol Zanetti. The party has a male and female spokesperson instead of a leader, but has chosen Ghazal to become premier if the party forms government.
Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon
Early years: Ghazal was born to a Palestinian family in Lebanon. She immigrated to Quebec when she was 10 years old.
Before politics: Ghazal worked in environmental management for manufacturing companies including Bombardier and Church & Dwight. When she was elected for Québec solidaire, she was director of health, security and environment for American glass-manufacturing company O-I.
Education: Ghazal studied business administration at HEC Montréal for her bachelor’s degree, which she obtained in 2000. In 2003, she got a master’s degree in environment at the Université de Sherbrooke.
Family: Ruba Ghazal has been in a relationship with actor Hubert Proulx for around five years.
Political record: Ghazal was a founding member of Québec solidaire in 2006. She was elected in the Montreal electoral division of Mercier in 2018.
She became co-spokesperson of the party on Nov. 16, 2024, when she was the only candidate in the race to replace Émilise Lessard-Therrien, who resigned months after replacing Manon Massé in the role.
Ghazal became the party’s parliamentary leader on March 21, 2025, after her co-spokesperson, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, resigned. She is going into the elections alongside Sol Zanetti, who replaced Nadeau-Dubois.
Riding: Mercier, in Montreal
Quote: “We have the right to demand that the country we are building be feminist, inclusive, and supported by a green economy,” she said when she was announced to be the party’s choice for premier of Quebec. “If the Parti Québécois bus is too small, … at Québec Solidaire, we’ll rent orange trains. There’s room on our orange trains for everyone!”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2026.
