# Ruba Ghazal

Ruba Ghazal (born December 6, 1977) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2018 provincial election. She represents the electoral district of Mercier as a member of Québec solidaire. In November 2024, she became the female co-spokesperson of the party after an uncontested election.

## Early life and education

Ghazal was born in Beirut, Lebanon to a family of Palestinian refugees. She lived in the United Arab Emirates until she was 10, when her family immigrated to Quebec. She studied at HEC Montréal.

## Political career

Ghazal was a founding member of Québec solidaire in 2006, and was the party's candidate for Laurier-Dorion in the 2007 and 2008 general elections. In 2018, she was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec for Mercier, succeeding Amir Khadir.
Following 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 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%.

## Political views
### Language issues

Ghazal has pushed for government policies to reverse the decline of the French language in Montreal. 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 (OQLF) for Montreal.

### Foreign policy

In 2021, Ghazal attended protests amid the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis 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 due to the country's position on Palestine.

## Electoral record

vte2022 Quebec general election: Mercier :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Québec solidaire | Ruba Ghazal | 14,755 | 53.92 | -0.58 |
| | Parti Québécois | Sabrina Mercier-Ullhorn | 3,986 | 14.57 | +2.44 |
| | Liberal | Catherine Boundjia | 3,837 | 14.02 | -3.69 |
| | Coalition Avenir Québec | Florence Lavictoire | 2,814 | 10.28 | +2.24 |
| | Conservative | Emmanuel Da Costa | 1,051 | 3.84 | +3.42 |
| | Green | Véronique Langlois | 818 | 2.99 | -0.78 |
| | Parti nul | Jenny Cartwright | 102 | 0.37 | -0.43 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 27,363 | 99.14 | – |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 238 | 0.86 | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,601 | 63.62 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 43,387 |
vte2018 Quebec general election: Mercier :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Québec solidaire | Ruba Ghazal | 15,919 | 54.5 | +8.31 |
| | Liberal | Gabrielle Collu | 5,172 | 17.71 | -5.31 |
| | Parti Québécois | Michelle Blanc | 3,542 | 12.13 | -8.37 |
| | Coalition Avenir Québec | Johanne Gagné | 2,348 | 8.04 | -0.34 |
| | Green | Stephanie Rochemont | 1,102 | 3.77 | |
| | New Democratic | Conrad Thompson | 738 | 2.53 | |
| | Parti nul | Malou Marcil | 233 | 0.8 | |
| | Conservative | Ludovic Proulx | 122 | 0.42 | |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Serge Lachapelle | 34 | 0.12 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 29,210 | 98.91 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 322 | 1.09 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,532 | 65.56 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 45,048 |
| | Québec solidaire hold | Québec solidaire hold | Swing | Swing | +6.81 |
| Source(s) "Rapport des résultats officiels du scrutin". Élections Québec. |||||||