The NDPQ changed its name to the Parti de la démocratie socialiste in 1994, and Rose was elected its leader in 1996. He led the party until 2002 when it joined the Union des forces progressistes. Rose worked for the Confédération des syndicats nationaux labour union. Rose remained a strong supporter of the Quebec sovereignty movement, which he likened to "a liberation nationalism. It's a people being denied its existence that is trying to find its place in the sun, in the same way as Palestine and Ireland."