Organizers of Votons Palestine described the Quebec election as a chance to “create a crisis for the political establishment” and pressure candidates to take a stand on Palestine.
“Elections are truly strategic moments when we can create a crisis for the political establishment and force candidates to take a stand on Palestine, since they’re more susceptible to pressure,” one speaker said during the campaign’s September 8 launch webinar, according to the supplied English transcript.
The coalition wants Quebec to close its office in Tel Aviv, provide provincial health coverage to Gazans who arrived on a special federal visa, and press the province’s pension fund to sell investments in companies the organizers say support Israel’s military actions or occupation.
It also wants Quebec-made military equipment kept from reaching Israel. Arms export permits are issued by the federal government.
During the webinar, Boutaïna Chafi advised supporters that some candidates might refuse a conversation as soon as they heard the word “Palestine,” suggesting they may wish to open with “international business issues” instead.
Chafi is described on the Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East website as “an active organizer in the Palestinian Youth Movement.”
The coalition includes Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), Greenpeace, the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), Fermons le bureau de la honte and Désinvestir pour la Palestine.
Federal corporate records list the same Montreal office suite as the registered address for IJV and CJPME.
Webinar speakers described the Quebec campaign as building on earlier federal and Montreal municipal Vote Palestine campaigns.
Of the 362 federal candidates who signed the Vote Palestine pledge, only 25 were elected. In Quebec, 40 Québec solidaire candidates have been reported to have endorsed all four Votons Palestine demands.
Three members of the Votons Palestine coalition appear in a 2024 NGO Monitor report mapping Canadian groups that it says have glorified listed terrorist organizations and regularly worked in coalition with Samidoun — these include the Palestinian Youth Movement, Independent Jewish Voices, and Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East.
In October 2024, Canada listed Samidoun as a terrorist entity after the report was published. The federal government referred to Samidoun’s close links to listed terrorist organizations, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
While the Palestinian Youth Movement describes itself as an independent movement organizing Palestinian and Arab youth, NGO Monitor is concerned about what it calls “a blatant lack of transparency regarding the funding sources” of organizations in this network.
In August 2025, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate PYM’s funding and tax-exempt donations, citing its events with Samidoun and statements he said supported terrorist groups.
Juno News requested comment CJPME, PYM, IJV, and the Votons Palestine campaign.
“Elections are truly strategic moments when we can create a crisis for the political establishment and force candidates to take a stand on Palestine…”
Too bad the “palestinians” located in Gaza or Judea-Samaria do not get to participate in such elections. However, those located in Israel are fully enfranchised.