Bloc’s fortunes slip as Liberals make gains in Quebec

The Bloc Québécois watched its fortunes slip as the Liberals made gains in Quebec on Monday, with the sovereigntist party projected to lose about one-third of the seats it held prior to the election.

As of 2 a.m. ET on Tuesday, the party had dropped from 35 seats to about 23, according to CBC’s projections.

Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet, who early Monday evening was projected to keep his seat in the riding of Beloeil–Chambly, repeated throughout the campaign that he was not running to become prime minister. Rather, he pitched himself as the best advocate for the interests of Quebecers and a partner to Canada.

During his speech Monday night, Blanchet said such a partnership will make the country stronger in trade negotiations with the United States.

“We will be articulate, competent people … and act in the interests of the common good,” Blanchet said.

At the same time, Canada must ensure that Quebec’s interests are respected, he said.

Just last week, Blanchet predicted “Canada will pick Mark Carney as its prime minister.” His comments came in response to a question about Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s painting Carney as an “existential threat” to Quebec.

Stéphanie Chouinard, an associate professor in the department of political science at Royal Military College, said a Liberal minority government is “probably the best case scenario for the Bloc Québécois because they would unofficially be able to hold the balance of power.”

“It would give them a lot more sway than they had in the previous parliament,” Chouinard said.

Some key wins for the party on Monday included Gaspésie-Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine-Listuguj where Alexis Deschênes defeated Liberal Diane Lebouthiller, a former revenue and fisheries minister.

“I’m still having difficulty believing it, but it will come,” Deschênes, a former lawyer and journalist, said in French.

The crowd at party headquarters in Montreal was also thrilled to see Bloc Québécois candidate Yves Perron projected win the riding of Berthier-Maskinongé for a third consecutive time as well as.Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe in Lac-Saint-Jean.

Perron once again defeated the NDP’s Ruth Ellen Brousseau.

Brunelle-Duceppe first won the riding in 2019 and was re-elected in 2021 with more than 50 per cent of the vote share, defeating Conservative candidate Serge Bergeon.

“We were confident, but an election, it’s always a box of surprises. We never know what will happen,” Brunelle-Duceppe said in French on Monday as supporters gathered at a microbrewery in Alma applauded.

Bloc Québécois candidates were projected Monday to win the following ridings as of 2 a.m. ET on Tuesday: