Jackie Smith sends out appeal for Transition Québec candidates
Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
peterblack@qctonline.com
Saying she “can’t do it alone,” Transition Québec leader and Limoilou Coun. Jackie Smith is seeking to recruit candidates to run in the municipal election scheduled for Nov. 5 next year.
Smith, who ran for mayor but won her council seat as a colistier (running mate) in the 2021 election, said she is launching the recruitment campaign early “because we want to be really clear we have a process – we’re not just recruiting our friends.”
Smith said in an interview with the QCT, “When there’s an open process to become a candidate, there’s a lot more women that apply, a lot more people from minorities and a lot of people who are not necessarily from the political class.”
She said, “We are trying to make the process as familiar as possible, to let the population know that it’s open to everybody. You don’t have to be part of a political clique or a boys club to run for office.”
For those interested in applying, Smith said, “It’s like a job interview.” Applicants fill out an online form on the Transition Québec website, including a CV and explaining why they are interested in running and in what district.
“Some districts are coveted more than others,” Smith said, depending on more likely pockets of support for the party. Smith was the only Transition Québec candidate in the 21 districts to get elected, although the party came second in two and third in two others.
Smith said party officials will review an application, and if the applicant is deemed appropriate, an in-person interview will follow. There is also a detailed vetting document to fill out, and party officials will examine social media and an applicant’s engagement with community groups and the like.
Smith said the party has already received a few submissions since she put out the call on Aug. 19.
She said the concept of an open call for candidates is inspired by some American groups seeking to encourage more candidates for political office from the working classes.
Smith said, “Part of the objective of doing this announcement is to sort of call everybody home. I can’t run this by myself. We need to get our [activists] back in the loop.”
As for her own candidacy, Smith, the mother of two young children, said, “I’m thinking about it.
“It’s a lot of work and I love it. I still have the passion and vision for it. Can my body keep up, is the question. Like I say, we’ll see.”
Transition Québec, an unabashedly left-wing and environmentalist party, was founded in 2020 as a renamed version of Option Capitale- Nationale – a creation of the provincial Option Nationale party, which merged with Québec Solidaire in 2017.