Ruba Ghazal (born December 6, 1977) is a Canadian politician. A member of Québec solidaire, she was first elected to the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

in the 2018 provincial election, representing the district of Mercier. Since 2024, she is Québec solidaire's female co-spokesperson.

Early life and education

Ghazal was born in

Beirut, Lebanon Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

to a family of Palestinian refugees. She lived in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

until she was 10, when her family immigrated to Quebec. She studied at

HEC Montréal HEC Montréal (; English: ''High Commercial Studies of Montreal'') is a bilingual public business school located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1907, HEC Montréal is the graduate business school of the Université de Montréal and is ...

Political career

Ghazal was a founding member of Québec solidaire in 2006, and was the party's candidate for Laurier-Dorion in the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

general elections. In

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, she was elected to the

for Mercier, succeeding Amir Khadir. Following re-election in the 2022 provincial election, she became the opposition critic for Education, Culture and Communications, the French Language, and the Status of Women. In 2023, Ghazal ran for the female co-spokesperson election of Québec solidaire. Ghazal lost the election in the second round, getting 49.7% for Ghazal against Émilise Lessard-Therrien who obtained 50.3%. After Lessard-Therrien stepped down in April 2024, she again ran for the co-spokesperson position. On November 16, she was acclaimed co-spokesperson after an uncontested election.

Political views

Language issues

Ghazal has pushed for government policies to reverse the decline of the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. As Québec solidaire's critic for language issues, Ghazal has advocated for the creation of a special branch of the ''

Office québécois de la langue française The (, OQLF; ) is an agency of the Quebec provincial government charged with ensuring legislative requirements with respect to the right to use French are respected. Established on 24 March 1961 by the Liberal government of Jean Lesage, the ...

'' (OQLF) for Montreal.

Foreign policy

In 2021, Ghazal attended protests amid the

2021 Israel–Palestine crisis The 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, sometimes called the Unity Intifada, was a major outbreak of violence in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict that mainly commenced on 10 May 2021, and continued until a ceasefire came into effect on 21 May. I ...

against the Israeli government's actions in actions in Sheikh Jarrah. Ghazal stated that "One day we will look back and declare this a humanitarian crime against Palestinians." Ghazal was among the signatories of a 2021 letter opposing Canada's bid for a seat on the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

due to the country's position on

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghazal, Ruba Living people 1977 births People from Beirut Lebanese people of Palestinian descent Canadian people of Palestinian descent Lebanese emigrants to Canada Québec solidaire spokespersons Quebec political party leaders Female Canadian political party leaders Politicians from Montreal Québec solidaire MNAs Women MNAs in Quebec Canadian people of Lebanese descent 21st-century Canadian women politicians Canadian accountants Canadian women accountants HEC Montréal alumni Middle Eastern diaspora in Canada 21st-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec Activists for Palestinian solidarity