‘Make a choice’: Bloc Québécois finding their voice as U.S.-Canada relations dominate federal election campaign

Six months ago, the Bloc Québécois captured a Liberal stronghold in a Montreal byelection, and polls indicated the party was in official Opposition territory, at a time when Justin Trudeau at the helm of a floundering Liberal party.

But since then, the political ground has massively shifted, as the federal election campaign has been dominated by U.S.-Canada relations and President Donald Trump, who has slapped 25 per cent tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum, and has threatened to impose more duties in April.

Finding their voice in all of this is the Bloc, whose leader, Yves-François Blanchet, was campaigning for the first time in Montreal on Wednesday.

“If you want me to look at the moment where the momentum for the Bloc might have changed, I would say: last Sunday, then Monday, then Tuesday, then today,” Blanchet said.

Blanchet was the the MELS studio in Montreal, which would have been the location of the TVA Face-à-Face debate. He asked Liberal leader Mark Carney to reconsider his refusal to appear in the now-cancelled debate.

Then, during a press conference, when asked who he would prefer to be Prime Minister, Blanchet said he is not a “kingmaker.”

“My only purpose is to be the best possible voice for Quebecers,” he said. “And we have still several weeks before us, to think seriously if it might not be better for Quebecers to give the voice to another Quebecer. It does not mean that we would not collaborate with anybody Canadians would choose.

“I’m not doing any interference in Canadian politics. I’m only trying to represent Quebec,” he added.

Some voters in the Hochelaga–Rosemont-Est riding in Montreal say they are unsure amid the election campaign.

“I don’t really know who I want to vote for this year,” said Taoli Lemay. “I’m kind of lost in all this climate, with all that Trump is saying and everything that he’s trying to change everywhere. And it just feels like we’re kind of in the middle of it.”

“If the Bloc could be strong enough, it might help. But I feel like we’re orphans,” said Bloc supporter, Linda Miville. “It’s going to take a strong party. If the Bloc could reach out to all the French-speaking ridings within Canada, that would be one thing, but it won’t be able to, so they’ll be missing power.”

Manuel Martinho says while he likes Blanchet but isn’t a Bloc supporter. He wants to see a bigger federal party form government.

“To change things, to confront Trump, to stand up to him, you need the old parties, the Liberals, the Conservatives,” he said. “These are the two parties that can, in my opinion, do something to change Trump’s ideas. The Bloc Québécois doesn’t have enough strength for that.”

The Bloc only runs candidates in Quebec’s 78 ridings. In December, poll aggregator Canada338.com had projected the Bloc could capture around 45 seats. 

But on Wednesday that projection dropped to about 24 seats — down from the 32 they’ve won in back-to-back elections under Blanchet.

“I think they lost a good chance to get a good score in the election and maybe form the official opposition and this possibility has disappeared right now,” said André Lamoureux, a political scientist at UQAM, and a Bloc Québécois supporter.

Last week, the Bloc announced its campaign slogan — “Je choisis le Québec!” (I choose Quebec.)

“Je choisis le Québec, but the Bloc doesn’t call to fight the Trump intimidation and Trump aggression against Canada and this aggression, which is also an aggression against Quebec, the province of Quebec,” said Lamoureux.

“It’s very important to understand that, because if the Bloc doesn’t marry itself with the vast majority of the population of Quebec, this vast majority of the population wants to fight Trump. And it’s not a minor minority. And if the Bloc doesn’t go on this way, the risk is to lose the election or even have a less good score than the last election.”

Blanchet says it’s his honesty and transparency that will help convince Quebecers of him and the party.

“I’m out there in the open, people listen to us and make a choice, and that’s all I ask,” he said.

-With files from The Canadian Press