The second- and third-largest sovereigntist political parties in this province are officially uniting under one banner.
This evening at a special conference outside Quebec City, members of Option Nationale voted overwhelmingly to ratify a merger agreement reached earlier this year with Quebec Solidaire. 90.7% of the 200 members present voted to approve the agreement.
Quebec Solidaire's membership already approved the merger agreement earlier in the month, to the delight of co-leaders Manon Massé and Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, who were major proponents of the deal as it was being negotiated between the two parties earlier in the year.
There were some within Option Nationale, which holds no seats in the National Assembly, who vehemently opposed the merger. It was reported during the contentious conference that as many as fifty disgruntled members walked out, calling the process to approve the merger "undemocratic".
Under the agreement, Option Nationale's leader Sol Zanetti will be guaranteed a candidacy under the merged Quebec Solidaire banner in a winnable seat in the next provincial election, currently scheduled for October 2018.