Elias starts off the week with Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante and Montreal journalist and broadcaster Sue Smith.

• Ruba Ghazal says Québec solidaire's new platform is "ambitious and credible. First, they would create a Quebecois Costco, a food wholesaler focused on local products and aimed at competing with the large grocery chains. They also propose a tougher stance and stricter rules on “abusive landlords”, and property owners who break housing laws, including reno-victions and property flipping.
• A beloved Verdun café is closing after being slapped by what they say was a 60% rent hike. Station W has been a mainstay on Wellington Street for 13 years. In a statement to the Montreal Gazette, the building’s owners refute claims of a 60% increase, but news of the closure and any talk of massive rent hikes have led to renewed calls for regulations on commercial leases.
• It appears the Quebec Liberals will have no problem attracting “star” candidates to their roster. Multiple reports now say that Michel Leblanc, the former head of the Montreal Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, will make his return to the public spotlight under Charles Milliard’s banner. David Bowles, who headed Quebec's largest group of private schools for eight years is also on the list. So is Pierre Cossette, a professor and doctor and former rector of the Université de Sherbrooke.