The October 5 provincial election in Quebec, Canada, has seen three politicians of Moroccan origin secure seats in the National Assembly. Monsef Derraji, Nada Boumeftah, and Valérie Assouline, all candidates for the Quebec Liberal Party, won their respective electoral districts. This development comes as the Parti Québécois (PQ) returned to power after more than a decade, winning 59 of the National Assembly's 127 seats and forming a minority government under leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
Monsef Derraji, born in Morocco, has retained his seat representing Nelligan for the Quebec Liberal Party. Derraji first entered Quebec's National Assembly in 2018 and was seeking a third mandate in the recent election. He previously served as an opposition critic on health and transport issues. Derraji's win allows him to continue his representation of the Nelligan riding.
Nada Boumeftah, a Quebec Liberal candidate in Montreal's Maurice-Richard riding, has also won a seat in the National Assembly. Boumeftah is described by the Quebec Liberal Party as a Quebecer of Moroccan origin and a lawyer specializing in criminal law, penal law, and youth protection. She founded her own law firm in 2016 and has worked as a legal commentator, defeating Québec Solidaire candidate Anne Latendresse in a closely contested race.
Valérie Assouline has won the Saint-Laurent riding for the Quebec Liberal Party. Assouline is a lawyer who specializes in family and youth law. Before entering provincial politics, she served as bâtonnière of the Montreal Bar for 2025-2026 and sat as a municipal councillor in Dollard-des-Ormeaux. She succeeded former Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy in Saint-Laurent after securing the riding in the October 5 election.
The PQ secured 27.9% of the vote, the lowest vote share for a winning party in Quebec's electoral history. The party will need support from opposition parties to govern, while the incumbent Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) lost all 79 seats it held when the election was called. The three victories add to the presence of politicians with Moroccan roots in Quebec's provincial institutions.
The election results mark a significant achievement for the three Moroccan-origin politicians, who have demonstrated their ability to connect with voters in their respective ridings. Their wins reflect the diversity of Quebec's population and the growing representation of minority groups in the province's politics. The Quebec Liberal Party has identified Derraji, Boumeftah, and Assouline as key candidates, and their election is expected to have an impact on the province's policy landscape.
Key points
- The three politicians of Moroccan origin - Monsef Derraji, Nada Boumeftah, and Valérie Assouline - have won seats in Quebec's National Assembly as candidates for the Quebec Liberal Party.
- The Parti Québécois has formed a minority government, winning 59 seats, while the Quebec Liberal Party has secured seats in various ridings, including Nelligan, Maurice-Richard, and Saint-Laurent.
- The election results reflect the diversity of Quebec's population, with politicians of Moroccan origin playing an increasingly prominent role in the province's politics.
