Quebec’s leftist sovereigntist party will campaign in part on running public grocery stores and a wealth tax ahead of the general election scheduled for October.
Québec solidaire, which holds 11 of the national assembly’s 125 seats, says it wants to restore affordability by bringing down food prices and tackling the housing crisis.
“We saw survey results this week, the majority of Quebec families’ main concerns are the cost of rent and groceries,” said Québec solidaire’s co-spokesperson and legislation leader Ruba Ghazal. “We want to tackle the affordability crisis and give most Quebecers some breathing room.”
Some 350 party members are gathered in Montreal this weekend to adopt positions on the cost of living, affordability and wealth redistribution.
They adopted a motion on Saturday saying that, if Québec solidaire were to form government, it would launch a pilot project to create public non-profit grocery stores. The government would buy food in bulk, prioritizing local products, and sell them at lower prices than big chain stores.
“Eighty per cent of the distribution of food sales are in the hands of only five main grocers,” said Alejandra Zaga Mendez, Québec solidaire’s economy critic. “We have to have more competition in order to reduce prices.”
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Ghazal added that Canada’s major grocery chains have made large profits as some Quebecers struggle to put food on the table. The party wants to cap the profit margins for these retailers at two per cent.
She says publicly run grocery stores could help bring the cost of groceries down by up to 30 per cent.
The party estimates that the pilot project would require an initial investment of $100 million, and would cost $85 million per year to operate.
Québec solidaire says it plans to cover most of those costs by increasing taxes on the ultrarich.
The party adopted a motion to impose an annual capital tax of one per cent on those with assets worth $25 million or more. Québec solidaire says that could lead to $5 billion in government revenue.
The party has said it is drawing inspiration from New York City’s democratic socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani’s promises included faster — and free — buses, as well as city-run grocery stores. The initial store, he said, would open next year, with the remaining shops — eventually one in each of New York City’s five boroughs — opening by the end of his four-year term.
Avi Lewis, the federal New Democratic Party’s new leader, also put forward a public grocery initiative. Earlier this year, the city of Toronto adopted a motion to open four municipally operated grocery stores as part of a pilot project.
Over the weekend, Québec solidaire members will also debate the party’s housing plan, which includes a cap on rent increases, as well as policy priorities on health, education and the environment.
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