Bloc Québécois

An incomplete list of Bloc Québécois political positions. Among other things the Bloc Québécois has advocated:

• Quebec sovereignty, up to independence, specifically repeal of the Clarity Act and opposition to the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project.{{cite web|url=http://www.timescolonist.com/business/leader-mario-beaulieu-wants-to-bring-immigrants-to-the-separatist-cause-1.1800917 |title=Leader Mario Beaulieu wants to bring immigrants to the separatist cause |work=Times Colonist |agency=The Canadian Press |date=22 March 2015 |access-date=23 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402124847/http://www.timescolonist.com/business/leader-mario-beaulieu-wants-to-bring-immigrants-to-the-separatist-cause-1.1800917 |archive-date=2 April 2015}}{{cite news|title=MPs reject Clarity Act repeal in 283–5 vote|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mps-reject-clarity-act-repeal-in-283-5-vote-1.1360913|access-date=7 May 2013|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=6 March 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527164839/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/03/06/pol-bq-clarity-act-vote.html|archive-date=27 May 2013}}{{cite news|title=Trudeau knocks Mulcair for 50-plus-1 stance on separation|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-knocks-mulcair-for-50-plus-1-stance-on-separation-1.1371534|access-date=7 May 2013|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=28 January 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131160804/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/01/28/pol-bloc-clarity-bid.html|archive-date=31 January 2013}}{{cite news|last=Heinrich|first=Jeff|title=Bloc Québécois look to future for success|url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/a9cois+look+future+success/8272497/story.html|access-date=8 May 2013|newspaper=The Gazette|location=Montreal|date=20 April 2013}}{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web|url=https://thenarwhal.ca/muskrat-falls-hydro-dam-trudeau-bailout/|title=Trudeau offers $5.2 billion bailout for Newfoundland and Labrador's beleaguered Muskrat Falls hydro dam|publisher=The Narwhal (Victoria, BC)|date=July 29, 2021|access-date=Oct 16, 2022|quote=Meanwhile, the Bloc Quebecois is decidedly against the bailout. It sees the money as an unfair advantage to N.L., because Hydro-Quebec and Nalcor are both Crown corporations with significant hydropower competing for New England markets...“In launching this project, the Newfoundland government made no secret of the fact that its objective was to harm Quebec, bypass Quebec territory and compete with Hydro-Quebec on export markets. “By announcing such funding, the government of Justin Trudeau is directly attacking Hydro-Quebec, which has been trying for several years to increase its electricity sales in the United States, one of the markets targeted by Muskrat Falls,” the statement also reads. Hydro-Quebec declined to comment.|archive-date=3 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603223112/https://thenarwhal.ca/muskrat-falls-hydro-dam-trudeau-bailout/|url-status=live}}
• Supporting the Kyoto Protocol.{{cite news|title=Opposition MPs pass Kyoto bill despite Tory resistance|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/opposition-mps-pass-kyoto-bill-despite-tory-resistance-1.644855|access-date=20 April 2013|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=14 February 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023060012/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2007/02/14/kyoto-vote.html|archive-date=23 October 2012}}{{cite news|title=Prentice defends oilsands following National Geographic article|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prentice-defends-oilsands-following-national-geographic-article-1.810270|access-date=7 May 2013|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=25 February 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121123214022/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2009/02/25/oilsands-articles.html|archive-date=23 November 2012}}
• Abortion rights.{{cite news|title=Motion on when life begins splits Conservative caucus|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/motion-on-when-life-begins-splits-conservative-caucus-1.1143850|access-date=8 May 2013|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=27 September 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514190059/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/09/27/pol-motion312-woodworth-when-life-begins.html|archive-date=14 May 2013}}
• LGBTQ+ rights.{{cite news|title=Commons approves transgender rights bill|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/commons-approves-transgender-rights-bill-1.1302626|access-date=7 May 2013|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=20 March 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507114300/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/03/20/pol-transgender-rights-bill-approved.html|archive-date=7 May 2013}}
• Legalization of assisted suicide.{{cite news|title=Assisted suicide voted down by MPs|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/assisted-suicide-voted-down-by-mps-1.910839|access-date=20 April 2013|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=21 April 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413013924/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2010/04/21/parliament-euthanasia-bill-vote.html|archive-date=13 April 2013}}
• Abolition of the Canadian Senate.{{cite news|title=MPs vote against NDP motion to abolish Senate|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mps-vote-against-ndp-motion-to-abolish-senate-1.1309545|access-date=7 May 2013|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=6 March 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520043548/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/03/06/pol-senate-abolition-vote.html|archive-date=20 May 2013}}
• Abolition of the monarchy.{{cite web|url=http://www.blocquebecois.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Programme.pdf |title=Programme du Bloc Québécois (Page 10) |date=3 August 2015 |access-date=25 April 2017 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150803071603/http://www.blocquebecois.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Programme.pdf |archive-date= 3 August 2015 }}
• Lowering the voting age to 16.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/votes/44/1/179|title=Vote Detail - 179 - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada|access-date=23 January 2025|archive-date=20 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920081017/https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/votes/44/1/179|url-status=live}}
• Support for the Quebec Secularism law, in which government bans individual civil servants from wearing religious attires, largely affecting Muslim women and Sikh men.{{Cite web|url=https://www.blocquebecois.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Plateforme_Bloc2019_web-1.pdf|title=Bloc Quebecois|access-date=4 January 2020|archive-date=22 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922133231/https://www2.blocquebecois.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Plateforme_Bloc2019_web-1.pdf|url-status=dead}}
• Exemption of Quebec from the requirements of the Multiculturalism Act.{{Cite web|last=Bélisle|first=Sarah|title=Le multiculturalisme finalement là pour rester au Québec|url=https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2018/11/08/bloc-quebecois-le-multiculturalisme-est-la-pour-rester|access-date=2021-09-19|website=Le Journal de Montréal|date=9 November 2018|archive-date=6 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406174508/https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2018/11/08/bloc-quebecois-le-multiculturalisme-est-la-pour-rester|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Le Bloc québécois demande d'exempter le Québec de la Loi sur le multiculturalisme|url=https://www.ledevoir.com/politique/canada/191439/le-bloc-quebecois-demande-d-exempter-le-quebec-de-la-loi-sur-le-multiculturalisme|access-date=2021-09-19|website=Le Devoir|date=27 May 2008 |language=fr}}

During the 2015 Canadian federal election, the Bloc Québécois supported banning the face covering during the citizenship ceremony and voting, aimed at Muslim women who wear the niqab.{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/canada-election-2015-bloc-quebecois-niqab-pipeline-1.3234830 |title=Bloc Québécois targets NDP over niqabs, pipelines in controversial new ad |work=CBC News |last=Shingler |first=Benjamin |date=18 September 2015 |access-date=14 September 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919011802/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/canada-election-2015-bloc-quebecois-niqab-pipeline-1.3234830 |archive-date=19 September 2015 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bloc-qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9cois-anti-niqab-ad-takes-aim-at-ndp-1.2974146 |title=Bloc Québécois anti-niqab ad takes aim at NDP |work=CBC News |date=26 February 2015 |access-date=14 September 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227071159/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bloc-qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9cois-anti-niqab-ad-takes-aim-at-ndp-1.2974146 |archive-date=27 February 2015 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/election/fact-check-how-meaningful-is-bloc-promise-to-ban-veiled-voting-oath-taking-1.2580783|title=Fact Check: How meaningful is Bloc promise to ban veiled voting, oath taking?|work=CTV News|date=25 September 2015|access-date=15 April 2021|archive-date=7 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407135203/https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/election/fact-check-how-meaningful-is-bloc-promise-to-ban-veiled-voting-oath-taking-1.2580783|url-status=live}}

File:Lucien Bouchard 2009.png

The Bloc Québécois was formed in 1990 as an informal coalition of Progressive Conservative and Liberal Members of Parliament from Quebec, who left their original parties around the time of the defeat of the Meech Lake Accord. The party was intended to be temporary and was given the goal of the promotion of sovereignty at the federal level. The party aimed to disband following a successful referendum on secession from Canada. As with most parties, it has gained and lost prominent supporters over the years.

The initial coalition that led to the Bloc was headed by Lucien Bouchard, who had been federal Minister of the Environment in the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney.{{cite news|title=The Bloc Québécois through the years|url=http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/the-bloc-qubcois-through-the-years/article2008919/?service=mobile|access-date=13 May 2011|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=3 May 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110508060618/http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/the-bloc-qubcois-through-the-years/article2008919/?service=mobile|archive-date=8 May 2011}} Bouchard abandoned the government in May 1990 in response to the report of a commission headed by Jean Charest that suggested changes to the Meech Lake Accord. Bouchard felt the recommendations for change undermined the objectives and spirit of the accord. According to The Secret Mulroney Tapes he was fired by Prime Minister Mulroney. Bouchard was joined by five of his fellow Tories (Nic Leblanc, Louis Plamondon, Benoît Tremblay, Gilbert Chartrand, and François Gérin), along with two Liberals (Gilles Rocheleau and Jean Lapierre). The first Bloquiste candidate to be elected was Gilles Duceppe, then a union organizer, in a by-election for the Montreal riding of Laurier—Sainte-Marie on 13 August 1990.{{cite web|title=DUCEPPE, Gilles|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=ed3d4160-8a5a-4efc-a0a6-d65deeb994d9&Language=E&Section=FederalExperience|publisher=Parliament of Canada|access-date=13 May 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228190447/http://www.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=ed3d4160-8a5a-4efc-a0a6-d65deeb994d9&Language=E&Section=FederalExperience|archive-date=28 February 2012}} He ran as an independent, since the Bloc had not been registered as a federal party.

File:Bloc Quebecois 1990s.svg

In the 1993 federal election, the Bloc won 54 seats (out of 75) in Quebec, sweeping nearly all of the francophone ridings. Because the opposition vote in the rest of Canada was split between the Reform Party, the Progressive Conservative Party, and the New Democratic Party, the Bloc narrowly won the second largest number of seats in the House of Commons, and therefore became the official opposition. While Reform finished second in the national popular vote, the Bloc's heavy concentration of support in Quebec was slightly larger than Reform's concentration in the West.{{cite news|title=Bloc Québécois forms the Opposition in 1993 election|url=http://www.cbc.ca/player/Digital+Archives/Politics/Federal+Politics/ID/1632493560/?page=6|access-date=26 May 2013|newspaper=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Digital Archives|date=26 October 1993|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219092100/http://www.cbc.ca/player/Digital+Archives/Politics/Federal+Politics/ID/1632493560/?page=6|archive-date=19 February 2015}}

Soon after the 35th Parliament convened, Bouchard announced that Bloquiste MPs would only speak French on the floor of the House of Commons, a policy that remains in force to this day. This was out of necessity; although Bouchard and most of the Bloc's founding members were fluently bilingual in French and English, Bouchard had discovered that most of his large caucus could not speak English well enough to use it in debate.

The election of such a relatively large number of Bloquistes was the first of The Three Periods, a plan intended to lay out the way to sovereignty created by PQ leader Jacques Parizeau. Parizeau became Premier of Quebec in the Quebec election of 1994 (the second of the Three Periods).

Because the Bloc was the official opposition, it had considerable privileges over the other parties although all of its MPs had been elected in one province. For instance, Question Periods during the 35th Parliament were dominated by issues of national unity. However, the governing Liberals regarded Reform as their main opposition on non-Quebec matters. Also, in 1995, when Bouchard garnered an invitation to meet visiting US President Bill Clinton by virtue of being Opposition Leader, Reform leader Preston Manning was also given a meeting with Clinton in order to defuse Bouchard's separatist leverage.{{cite web|author=Warren Caragata in Ottawa with Carl Mollins in Washington |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0010399|title=Clinton visits Chrétien|date=6 March 1995|work=Maclean's|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090428054316/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0010399|access-date=22 August 2019|archive-date = 28 April 2009}}

In 1995, the PQ government called the second referendum on independence in Quebec history. The Bloc entered the campaign for the Oui (Yes) side (in favour of sovereignty). The Oui side's campaign had a difficult beginning, so the leadership of the campaign was shifted from PQ leader Jacques Parizeau to Bloc leader Lucien Bouchard. Bouchard was seen as more charismatic and more moderate, and therefore more likely to attract voters.{{cite news|title=The 1995 Quebec referendum: Turning the 'Yes' tide|url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/federal-politics/separation-anxiety-the-1995-quebec-referendum/turning-the-yes-tide.html|access-date=14 May 2013|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=30 October 1995|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130211091454/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/federal-politics/separation-anxiety-the-1995-quebec-referendum/turning-the-yes-tide.html|archive-date=11 February 2013}}

A "tripartite agreement" mapping out the plan for accession to independence was written and signed by the leaders of the Parti Québécois, the Bloc Québécois and the Action démocratique du Québec on 12 June 1995.{{cite news |title=1995 Quebec referendum: A "Yes" alliance |url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/federal-politics/separation-anxiety-the-1995-quebec-referendum/a-common-front.html |access-date=14 May 2013 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |date=12 June 1995 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210231431/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/federal-politics/separation-anxiety-the-1995-quebec-referendum/a-common-front.html |archive-date=10 February 2013}} It revived René Lévesque's notion that the referendum should be followed by the negotiating of an association agreement between an independent Quebec and the rest of Canada. This provision was inspired by Bouchard. Parizeau had previously wanted a vote simply on independence. The difference became moot when 50.6% of voters taking part in the referendum rejected the sovereignty plan. An overwhelming "Non" vote in Montreal tipped the balance.{{cite book |last=Cardinal |first=Mario |title=Breaking Point: Quebec, Canada, The 1995 Referendum |location=Montreal |publisher=Bayard Canada Books |isbn=2-89579-068-X |year=2005 |page=405}}{{cite web |title=DGEQ October 30, 1995 Results |url=http://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/francais/tableaux/referendum-1995-8481.php |website=Le Directeur général des élections du Québec |access-date=January 27, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213023157/http://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/francais/tableaux/referendum-1995-8481.php |archive-date=December 13, 2014}}

The day after the referendum, Parizeau announced his pending resignation as PQ leader and Premier of Quebec. Bouchard left federal politics and succeeded Parizeau in both posts on 26 January 1996.{{cite news |last1=Pearlstein |first1=Steven |title=Separatists Win Quebec Elections |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/canada/stories/elections120198.htm |access-date=25 October 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post |agency=Washington Post Foreign Service |date=December 1, 1998 |archive-date=13 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313025033/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/canada/stories/elections120198.htm |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=May 1, 1998 |title=Charest takes Liberal reins: New leader heaps scorn on Quebec separatists |work=Calgary Herald |page=A4}}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-sep-20-mn-34188-story.html |title=Provinces Brainstorm on Issue of Quebec Secession |last=Turner |first=Craig |date=1997-09-20 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=2019-07-08 |language=en-US |issn=0458-3035 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708231735/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-sep-20-mn-34188-story.html |archive-date=2019-07-08 |url-status=live}}

Following Bouchard's departure from Ottawa, Michel Gauthier became leader of the Bloc. In the wake of the referendum defeat, Gauthier proved unable to hold the fractious caucus together and resigned as leader just one year later. Gilles Duceppe, who had served as interim leader between Bouchard and Gauthier, became leader of the Bloc in 1997.{{cite news | url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/duceppe-resigns-as-bloc-leader-after-losing-riding/article2007598/ | location=Toronto | work=The Globe and Mail | title=Duceppe resigns as Bloc leader after losing riding | date=24 August 2012 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505112408/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/duceppe-resigns-as-bloc-leader-after-losing-riding/article2007598/ | archive-date=5 May 2011}}{{cite news | url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/984484--duceppe-resigns-as-bloc-quebecois-drowns-in-an-orange-tsunami?bn=1 | location=Toronto | work=The Star | first=Andrew | last=Chung | title=Duceppe resigns as Bloc Québécois drowns in an orange tsunami | date=3 May 2011 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024031701/http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/984484--duceppe-resigns-as-bloc-quebecois-drowns-in-an-orange-tsunami?bn=1 | archive-date=24 October 2012}}

File:Gilles Duceppe 2011-04-01 (cropped).jpg

In the 1997 federal election, the Bloc Québécois dropped to 44 seats, losing official opposition status to the Reform Party. The 1997–2000 term was marked by the Bloc's fight against the passage of the Clarity Act, the attempt by Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien (himself a Quebecer who represented a strongly nationalist riding) and Stéphane Dion, a Quebec minister in Chrétien's cabinet, to codify the Supreme Court of Canada's 1998 decision that Quebec could not secede unilaterally.{{cite news|last=Dion|first=Stéphane|title=Stéphane Dion: Quebeckers want more clarity than 50% plus one|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/stphane-dion-quebeckers-want-more-clarity-than-50-plus-one/article8329073/|access-date=8 May 2013|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=7 February 2013}}

In the 2000 election, the Bloc dropped further to 38 seats, despite polling a larger percentage of the vote than at the previous election. One factor was the forced merger of several major Quebec cities, such as Montreal, Quebec City and Hull/Gatineau. The merger was very unpopular in those areas, resulting in Liberal wins in several of the merged areas. This was still more than the number of seats the Liberals had won in Quebec. However, the Liberals won several subsequent by-elections during the life of the 37th Parliament, until the Liberals had held the majority of Quebec's seats in the Commons for the first time since the 1984 federal election. From then to the subsequent election, the Bloc continued to denounce the federal government's interventions in what the Bloc saw as exclusively provincial jurisdictions. The Bloc credits its actions for the uncovering of what has since become the sponsorship scandal.{{cite news|title=Federal sponsorship scandal|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/groupaction/|access-date=24 April 2014|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=26 October 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140515152950/http://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/groupaction/|archive-date=15 May 2014}}

The Bloc continued to slide in most of the 2003 opinion polls following the 2003 Quebec election which was won by the federalist Quebec Liberal Party led by Jean Charest. However, things changed during the winter of 2003. The federalist Charest government lost popularity. Then, in February 2004, the Auditor General of Canada uncovered the sponsorship scandal, suggesting illegality in the spending of federal monies in Quebec in support of Canadian unity. As well, the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien passed party financing legislation that resulted in the Bloc receiving millions of dollars in subsidies that helped to stabilize its organization.{{cite news|title=Political contributions: money, money, money|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/cdngovernment/political-contributions.html|access-date=24 April 2014|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=5 June 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401043433/http://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/cdngovernment/political-contributions.html|archive-date=1 April 2014}}

For the 2004 election, the Bloc adopted the slogan Un parti propre au Québec, a play on words that can be translated either as "A party of Quebec's own" ("a party proper to Quebec") or as "A clean party in Quebec". The Bloc won 54 seats in the House of Commons, tying its previous record from the 1993 campaign. For the 2006 election, the Bloc used the slogan Heureusement, ici, c'est le Bloc! ("Fortunately, the Bloc is here!").{{cite web|url=http://www.bloc.org/archivage/depmontreal_english.pdf |title=BQ_DepEthno – anglais |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060219011054/http://www.bloc.org/archivage/depmontreal_english.pdf |archive-date=19 February 2006 }} The Bloc were expected to easily win more than 60 seats at the start of the campaign, and they did in fact take six seats from the Liberals. However, the unexpected surge of the new Conservative Party of Canada in parts of Quebec, particularly in and around Quebec City, led to the Bloc losing eight seats to the Tories. Coupled with an additional loss to André Arthur, an independent candidate, the Bloc recorded a net loss of three seats.{{cite news|title=Conservatives make breakthrough in Quebec; Bloc wins 51 seats|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/conservatives-make-breakthrough-in-quebec-bloc-wins-51-seats-1.586146|access-date=24 April 2014|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=24 January 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416201625/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/conservatives-make-breakthrough-in-quebec-bloc-wins-51-seats-1.586146|archive-date=16 April 2014}}

The Conservative Party won a plurality of seats in the House of Commons, thus forming a minority government. There was persistent speculation as to the possibility of the Bloc forming alliances with other opposition parties to wrest the government away from the Conservatives. Duceppe, whose leadership was confirmed after the election, maintained that the Bloc would continue to co-operate with other opposition parties or with the government when this advantaged Quebec, but would not participate in a federal government.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}

Gilles Duceppe announced on 11 May 2007 that he would run for the leadership of the Parti Québécois to replace André Boisclair, who resigned on 8 May 2007, after the poor performance in the March 2007 Quebec provincial election and internal dissent forced him to step down. Duceppe announced the next day that he was withdrawing from the race, and that he would support Pauline Marois who had also announced her intention to run.{{cite news|title=Duceppe drops out of PQ race|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/duceppe-drops-out-of-pq-race-1.675571|access-date=8 May 2013|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=12 May 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315002030/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2007/05/12/duceppe-pq.html|archive-date=15 March 2013}}

The Bloc made slight gains following the 2008 federal elections as they won 49 seats, one more than the number they had before the previous parliament was dissolved. In that election, they used the slogan "{{lang|fr|Présent pour le Québec}}" ("Present for Quebec"). Although they made small gains in relation to the number of seats at dissolution, they fell by 2 seats to 49 in comparison to the 51 they received in 2006. Also, the proportion of popular votes in the province was down 4 points to 38.1%, the Bloc's lowest score since 1997.

In a speech in front of his supporters following the election, BQ leader Gilles Duceppe claimed to have achieved his objectives, adding: "without the Bloc Québécois tonight, Mr. Harper would have formed a majority government".{{cite news|title=Harper 'very pleased' with stronger minority|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/harper-very-pleased-with-stronger-minority-1.707322|access-date=2 June 2018|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=15 October 2008|archive-date=7 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507202221/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/harper-very-pleased-with-stronger-minority-1.707322|url-status=live}}

At the end of November 2008, the Bloc indicated that it would support a possible motion of no confidence against the governing Conservatives by the two other opposition parties, and would support the resulting Liberal-NDP coalition government at least until June 2010, without actually being part of the government.{{cite news|title=Liberals, NDP, Bloc sign deal on proposed coalition|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/liberals-ndp-bloc-sign-deal-on-proposed-coalition-1.700119|access-date=2 June 2018|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=1 December 2008|archive-date=28 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160228223101/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/liberals-ndp-bloc-sign-deal-on-proposed-coalition-1.700119|url-status=live}}

On 26 March 2011, Bloc Québécois leader Duceppe stated that Conservative leader Stephen Harper had in 2004 tried to form a coalition government with the Bloc and NDP in response to Harper's allegations that the Liberals intended to form a coalition with the Bloc and the NDP.{{cite news|last=Payton|first=Laura|title=Harper wanted 2004 coalition: Duceppe|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/harper-wanted-2004-coalition-duceppe-1.1118390|access-date=26 March 2011|publisher=CBC News|date=26 March 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104222524/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/story/2011/03/26/cv-kickoff-bloc.html|archive-date=4 November 2011}} Two months after the 2004 federal election, Stephen Harper privately met with BQ leader Gilles Duceppe and New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton in a Montreal hotel. On 9 September 2004, the three signed a letter addressed to then-Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, stating,

{{Blockquote|We respectfully point out that the opposition parties, who together constitute a majority in the House, have been in close consultation. We believe that, should a request for dissolution arise, this should give you cause, as constitutional practice has determined, to consult the opposition leaders and consider all of your options before exercising your constitutional authority.{{cite news|title=Harper, Layton, Duceppe sought 'co-opposition' in 2004 letter to GG |url=http://www.canada.com/news/Harper+Layton+Duceppe+sought+opposition+2004+letter/4511865/story.html |newspaper=The Gazette (Montreal) |date=27 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401200203/http://www.canada.com/news/Harper%2BLayton%2BDuceppe%2Bsought%2Bopposition%2B2004%2Bletter/4511865/story.html |archive-date= 1 April 2011 }}}}

On the same day the letter was written, the three party leaders held a joint press conference at which they expressed their intent to co-operate on changing parliamentary rules, and to request that the governor general consult with them before deciding to call an election.{{cite news|last=Chung|first=Andrew|title=Bloc leader accuses Harper of lying about coalition|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/962240--bloc-leader-accuses-harper-of-lying-about-coalition?bn=1|access-date=27 March 2011|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=26 March 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023204043/http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/962240--bloc-leader-accuses-harper-of-lying-about-coalition?bn=1|archive-date=23 October 2012}} At the news conference, Harper said: "It is the Parliament that's supposed to run the country, not just the largest party and the single leader of that party. That's a criticism I've had and that we've had and that most Canadians have had for a long, long time now so this is an opportunity to start to change that." However, at the time, Harper and the two other opposition leaders denied trying to form a coalition government, despite the letter written to the governor general. Harper said, "This is not a coalition, but this is a co-operative effort."

One month later, on 4 October 2004, journalist Mike Duffy, (later appointed as a Conservative senator by Harper in December 2008), said "It is possible that you could change prime minister without having an election", and that some Conservatives wanted Harper as prime minister. The next day Layton walked out on talks with Harper and Duceppe, accusing them of trying to replace Paul Martin with Harper as prime minister. Both Bloc and Conservative officials denied Layton's accusations.

In the 2011 federal election, in the wake of a surge of support for the New Democratic Party, the Bloc received less than a quarter of the popular vote in Quebec (and less than 6% of the national vote). It lost 44 of the 47 seats it held at parliament's dissolution, and only added one seat, which had been vacated by a Bloc Québécois member six months prior to the election. The seats lost included that of Duceppe, who resigned as party president and leader. It also lost all but one of its seats in Montreal.

By winning only four seats, the Bloc failed to reach the minimum of 12 seats required for official party status in the House of Commons. MPs without official party status are treated as independents and must sit in the back row of the opposition benches. They are permitted just a few questions each week in question period and cannot sit as voting members on parliamentary committees.{{cite news|title=Duceppe quits after BQ crushed in Quebec|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/duceppe-quits-after-bq-crushed-in-quebec-1.1080086|access-date=7 May 2013|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=2 May 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520213346/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/story/2011/05/02/cv-election-bloc-wrap-652.html|archive-date=20 May 2013}}{{cite news|title=Bloc to seek party status, new leader: MP|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bloc-to-seek-party-status-new-leader-mp-1.1117297|access-date=26 May 2013|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=10 May 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808161017/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/05/10/bloc-party-status.html|archive-date=8 August 2011}}

Elected to Parliament in this election were incumbents Louis Plamondon, André Bellavance, Maria Mourani and rookie MP Jean-François Fortin. When the 41st Parliament convened on 2 June 2011, Plamondon became the Bloc's interim parliamentary leader.{{cite web|title=Louis Plamondon nommé chef parlementaire par intérim du Bloc Québécois |url=http://www.blocquebecois.org/bloc.aspx?bloc=b9ce5ece-2021-43c3-a58b-bea951e2c974 |publisher=Bloc Quebecois |access-date=23 August 2011 |date=2 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829173021/http://www.blocquebecois.org/Bloc.aspx?bloc=b9ce5ece-2021-43c3-a58b-bea951e2c974 |archive-date=29 August 2011 }} Vivian Barbot served as interim leader and party president following Duceppe's resignation until the party's 2011 leadership election.{{cite web|title=LEADERSHIP ROLES|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/Files/Party.aspx?Item=a639384e-e1a0-4169-83da-904925139b6a&Language=E|publisher=Parliament of Canada|access-date=28 May 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528182721/http://www.parl.gc.ca/ParlInfo/Files/Party.aspx?Item=a639384e-e1a0-4169-83da-904925139b6a&Language=E|archive-date=28 May 2013}}

The Bloc Québécois leadership election campaign to choose a permanent successor to Duceppe began on 17 September 2011 and concluded on 11 December{{cite web |title=La course à la présidence du Bloc Québécois aura lieu du 18 septembre au 11 décembre 2011 |url=http://www.blocquebecois.org/bloc.aspx?bloc=414b61d6-dccb-4398-8908-459a768bce22 |publisher=Bloc Quebecois |access-date=23 August 2011 |date=13 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808114639/http://www.blocquebecois.org/Bloc.aspx?bloc=414b61d6-dccb-4398-8908-459a768bce22 |archive-date=8 August 2011 }} with the election of former MP for Hochelaga Daniel Paillé as party leader.{{cite news |title=Daniel Paille elected Bloc Quebecois leader |url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/Daniel+Paille+elected+Bloc+Quebecois+leader/5844249/story.html |access-date=11 December 2011 |newspaper=The Gazette |location=Montreal |date=11 December 2011}}{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}{{Cite news |date=11 December 2011 |title=Daniel Paille new leader of Bloc Quebecois |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/daniel-paill%C3%A9-new-leader-of-bloc-qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9cois-1.1073544 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240917202112/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/daniel-paill%C3%A9-new-leader-of-bloc-qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9cois-1.1073544 |archive-date=17 September 2024 |access-date=2025-05-04 |work=CBC News}} Plamondon, the longest-serving member of the Commons, served as parliamentary leader during Paillé's tenure as he did not have a seat.

On 28 February 2013, Claude Patry defected from the New Democratic Party and joined the Bloc, citing his disagreement with the New Democratic Party on the subject of Quebec sovereignty, bringing the party's total seats in Parliament up to five.{{cite news|title=Mulcair calls on Patry to resign seat after defection to Bloc|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mulcair-calls-on-patry-to-resign-seat-after-defection-to-bloc-1.1303285|access-date=7 May 2013|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=28 February 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509123328/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/02/28/pol-mp-claude-patry-ndp-bloc-quebec-switch.html|archive-date=9 May 2013}}

The caucus fell back to four MPs on 12 September 2013 when Mourani, the party's only remaining member from Montreal, was expelled for her comments criticizing the Parti Québécois government's proposed Charter of Quebec Values.{{cite news|title=Bloc kicks out MP who spoke against Quebec religious-symbols ban|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/bloc-kicks-out-mp-who-spoke-against-quebec-religious-symbols-ban/article14273942/|access-date=12 September 2013|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=12 September 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130912164623/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/bloc-kicks-out-mp-who-spoke-against-quebec-religious-symbols-ban/article14273942/|archive-date=12 September 2013}}

Paillé stepped down as leader on 16 December 2013 because of health reasons.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/daniel-paill%C3%A9-leader-of-bloc-qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9cois-to-resign-1.2465588 |title=Daniel Paillé, leader of Bloc Québécois, to resign |date=16 December 2013 |access-date=16 December 2013 |publisher=CBC News |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428015222/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/daniel-paill%C3%A9-leader-of-bloc-qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9cois-to-resign-1.2465588 |archive-date=28 April 2018}} A leadership election was held the following June.{{cite news |title=Bloc Quebecois to pick new leader in May to replace Daniel Paille |url=https://montrealgazette.com/health/Bloc+Quebecois+pick+leader+replace+Daniel+Paille/9376769/story.html |access-date=15 January 2014 |newspaper=The Gazette |date=12 January 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140114175120/http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/Bloc+Quebecois+pick+leader+replace+Daniel+Paille/9376769/story.html |archive-date=14 January 2014}}

Hardliner Mario Beaulieu, a former president of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste who had never been a Member of Parliament nor a member of Quebec's National Assembly, was elected party leader after running on a platform of prioritizing Quebec independence above all else. He defeated BQ Member of Parliament André Bellavance, who had campaigned on a platform of broadening the Bloc beyond being a coalition of sovereigntists and had been endorsed by the rest of the party's caucus.{{cite news |title=Bloc Québécois leadership candidate Mario Beaulieu wants to put sovereignty back on the front burner |url=https://montrealgazette.com/a9cois+leadership+candidate+Mario+Beaulieu+wants+sovereignty+back+front+burner/9791663/story.html |access-date=3 May 2014 |newspaper=The Gazette|location=Montreal |date=30 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503003902/http://www.montrealgazette.com/a9cois%2Bleadership%2Bcandidate%2BMario%2BBeaulieu%2Bwants%2Bsovereignty%2Bback%2Bfront%2Bburner/9791663/story.html |archive-date=3 May 2014}}

On 12 August 2014, the caucus was reduced to three MPs when the Bloc's interim parliamentary leader, Jean-François Fortin, quit the party to sit as an independent saying that the Bloc Québécois he had joined no longer existed and that Beaulieu had destroyed its credibility.{{cite news |title=Jean-Francois Fortin quits Bloc, says party no longer exists under new leader |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/jean-francois-fortin-quits-bloc-says-party-no-longer-exists-under-new-leader-1.2734098?cmp=rss |access-date=12 August 2014 |publisher=CBC News |date=12 August 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428015222/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/jean-francois-fortin-quits-bloc-says-party-no-longer-exists-under-new-leader-1.2734098?cmp=rss |archive-date=28 April 2018}} On 25 August 2014, former interim parliamentary leader and failed leadership contender André Bellavance also resigned, reducing the Bloc to two MPs – one of whom, Claude Patry, had announced that he would not run for re-election.{{cite news |title=Another Bloc MP quits party, leaving only two in Parliament |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/bloc-quebecois-mp-quits-party-pq-left-with-just-two-sitting-mps/article20191190/ |access-date=25 August 2014 |work=The Globe and Mail |date=25 August 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140825225459/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/bloc-quebecois-mp-quits-party-pq-left-with-just-two-sitting-mps/article20191190/ |archive-date=25 August 2014}} On 31 December 2014, the party's vice president, Annie Lessard, resigned after a personality conflict with leader Mario Beaulieu.{{cite web |url=http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/bloc-quebecois-vp-annie-lessard-resigns-1.2167945 |title=Bloc Quebecois VP Annie Lessard resigns |publisher=CTV Montreal News |date=31 December 2014 |access-date=25 April 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426152752/http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/bloc-quebecois-vp-annie-lessard-resigns-1.2167945 |archive-date=26 April 2017}}

With two seats left in parliament, and with the party languishing in the polls a few months before an expected election campaign, it was announced 10 June 2015 that Gilles Duceppe would be returning to lead the party into the campaign; Beaulieu would relinquish the leadership but remain party president.{{cite news|title=illes Duceppe returns to lead Bloc Quebecois|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/gilles-duceppe-returns-to-lead-bloc-quebecois-1.2415002?hootPostID=062f4530d523c353466cfe09a9478b52|access-date=10 June 2015|work=CTV News|date=10 June 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610222826/http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/gilles-duceppe-returns-to-lead-bloc-quebecois-1.2415002?hootPostID=062f4530d523c353466cfe09a9478b52|archive-date=10 June 2015}} The party executive agreed on 9 June 2015, to split the positions of president and party leader in order to facilitate Duceppe's return. The changes were approved by the party's general council on 1 July.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/canada/montreal/gilles-duceppe-officially-named-leader-of-bloc-qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9cois-1.3135046 |title=Gilles Duceppe officially named leader of Bloc Québécois |publisher=CBC News |date=1 July 2015 |access-date=25 April 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924144719/http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/canada/montreal/gilles-duceppe-officially-named-leader-of-bloc-qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9cois-1.3135046 |archive-date=24 September 2015}}{{cite news|title=Returning Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe targets NDP for fall election|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/gilles-duceppe-returns-to-lead-bloc-quebecois/article24893180/|access-date=10 June 2015|work=The Globe and Mail|date=10 June 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121071123/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/gilles-duceppe-returns-to-lead-bloc-quebecois/article24893180/|archive-date=21 November 2015}}{{cite news |title=Gilles Duceppe preparing comeback as leader of Bloc Québécois|access-date=4 May 2025|date=9 June 2015 |work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/gilles-duceppe-preparing-comeback-as-leader-of-bloc-qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9cois-1.3105751}}

File:Canadian federal election, 2015 results by riding - Bloc Quebecois strength.svg showing support for Bloc Québécois candidates by riding]]

During the 2015 federal election, the Bloc Québécois had hoped to pick up seats from the collapsing NDP vote; however, most Quebecers instead switched their allegiance to the Liberals and Conservatives rather than back to the Bloc. While the Bloc managed to win 10 seats, more than twice that of the previous election, it was not enough to gain official party status. The party's share of the popular vote in Quebec fell to 19%, its lowest point up until that time. As in 2011, Duceppe failed to win his own seat, and resigned again as party leader.{{cite news |author=Canada |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/former-pq-interim-leader-stephane-bedard-leaving-politics/article26925216/ |title=Bloc leader Duceppe, former PQ interim leader both resign |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=22 October 2015 |access-date=25 April 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404163311/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/former-pq-interim-leader-stephane-bedard-leaving-politics/article26925216/ |archive-date=4 April 2017}}

The party was led on an interim basis by Rhéal Fortin until the Bloc Québécois leadership election in March 2017 acclaimed Martine Ouellet, a member of the provincial National Assembly of Quebec, as party leader.{{cite web|url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/bloc-quebecois-leadership-who-is-martine-ouellet|title=Bloc Québécois' new leader: Who is Martine Ouellet?|work=The Gazette|location=Montreal|access-date=14 March 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314202301/http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/bloc-quebecois-leadership-who-is-martine-ouellet|archive-date=14 March 2017}} Ouellet is not a Member of Parliament and intended to see out her term in the provincial legislature until the next provincial election in October 2018.

On 28 February 2018, seven of the Bloc's ten MPs quit the party's caucus to form the Groupe parlementaire québécois (later called Québec debout) citing conflicts with Ouellet's leadership style and her insistence that the Bloc should emphasize promoting Quebec independence over "defending Quebec's interests".{{cite news|title=Bloc Québécois fractures as seven of 10 MPs quit over Ouellet's leadership|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/seven-of-10-bloc-quebecois-mps-quit-over-martine-ouellets-leadership/article38144355/#c-image-0|access-date=1 March 2018|work=The Globe and Mail|date=1 March 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228200806/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/seven-of-10-bloc-quebecois-mps-quit-over-martine-ouellets-leadership/article38144355/#c-image-0|archive-date=28 February 2018}}{{cite news|last1=Allard|first1=Clement|title=Seven of 10 Bloc Quebecois MPs quit over Martine Ouellet's leadership|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/seven-of-10-bloc-quebecois-mps-quit-over-martine-ouellets-leadership/article38144355/|access-date=28 February 2018|work=The Globe and Mail|agency=The Canadian Press|date=28 February 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228180649/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/seven-of-10-bloc-quebecois-mps-quit-over-martine-ouellets-leadership/article38144355/|archive-date=28 February 2018}} Three MPs remained in the Bloc's caucus: Mario Beaulieu (La Pointe-de-l'Île), Xavier Barsalou-Duval (Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères), and Marilène Gill (Manicouagan).

More than 20 ex-Bloc MPs, including Gilles Duceppe, issued an open letter supporting the seven current MPs who had resigned from caucus and demanding Ouellet's resignation.{{cite web|url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/more-than-20-ex-bloc-quebecois-mps-call-on-martine-ouellet-to-quit|title=More than 20 ex-Bloc Québécois MPs call on Martine Ouellet to quit|date=3 March 2018|website=The Gazette|location=Montreal|access-date=28 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304231538/http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/more-than-20-ex-bloc-quebecois-mps-call-on-martine-ouellet-to-quit|archive-date=4 March 2018}} Nevertheless, after a lengthy meeting, the party's executive issued a statement supporting Ouellet's leadership but also stating that the seven rebels could keep their Bloc Québécois memberships and would not be expelled from the party for quitting the caucus, inviting them to return to the caucus in the future.{{cite web|url=https://montrealgazette.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/bloc-quebecois-meets-to-discuss-fate-of-seven-mps-who-quit-over-leaders-style/wcm/771dd787-4bbd-4f05-86db-0d61b4af77bb|title=Bloc Québécois national office rallies behind Martine Ouellet|date=3 March 2018|website=The Gazette|location=Montreal|access-date=28 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304070939/http://montrealgazette.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/bloc-quebecois-meets-to-discuss-fate-of-seven-mps-who-quit-over-leaders-style/wcm/771dd787-4bbd-4f05-86db-0d61b4af77bb|archive-date=4 March 2018}} A Léger Marketing poll conducted shortly after put the Bloc Quebecois at 12% among Quebec voters, its lowest rating ever. Following an election this would likely translate into zero seats, putting the survival of the party into question for the 2019 federal election.{{cite news|title=Martine Ouellet won't surrender Bloc leadership, despite outcry by former MPs|url=https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/bloc-leadership-meets-to-discuss-referendum-question-1.3837327|access-date=10 March 2018|work=CTV News Montreal|agency=The Canadian Press|date=10 March 2018|language=en-CA|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310181148/https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/bloc-leadership-meets-to-discuss-referendum-question-1.3837327|archive-date=10 March 2018}}

A leadership review referendum was held on Ouellet's leadership on 1 and 2 June 2018{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/martine-ouellet-bloc-quebecois-leadership-referendum-1.4593688 |title=Referendum on Martine Ouellet's Bloc Québécois leadership set for 1–2 June |publisher=CBC News |date=26 March 2018 |access-date=10 June 2018 |archive-date=4 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604210244/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/martine-ouellet-bloc-quebecois-leadership-referendum-1.4593688 |url-status=live }} resulting in the party membership rejecting her leadership by 67%, while a proposal that the party prioritize Quebec independence on a daily basis above all other issues also passed with 65% support. Ouellet subsequently announced her resignation as party leader effective 11 June 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-martine-ouellet-loses-bloc-quebecois-leadership-confidence-vote/|title=Martine Ouellet loses Bloc Québécois leadership confidence vote|date=3 June 2018|website=www.theglobeandmail.com|archive-date=4 June 2018|access-date=4 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604105825/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-martine-ouellet-loses-bloc-quebecois-leadership-confidence-vote/|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/martine-ouellet-steps-down-1.4690336 |title=Embattled Bloc Québécois leader Martine Ouellet resigns |publisher=CBC News |date=4 June 2018 |access-date=10 June 2018 |archive-date=4 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604210700/https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4690336 |url-status=live }}

Following the announcement of Ouellet's resignation, MPs Michel Boudrias and Simon Marcil announced they would rejoin the party,{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bloc-quebecois-mps-return-quebec-debout-1.4694137 |title=Two of seven MPs who quit the Bloc Quebecois returning to the party |publisher=CBC News |date=6 June 2018 |access-date=10 June 2018 |archive-date=7 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180607214035/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bloc-quebecois-mps-return-quebec-debout-1.4694137 |url-status=live }} while party president and MP Mario Beaulieu was named Ouelett's successor on an interim basis until her successor could be chosen.{{cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/federal-leaders-including-trudeau-and-scheer-in-quebec-ahead-of-byelection|title=Federal leaders including Trudeau and Scheer converge on Quebec before byelection|date=14 June 2018|work=National Post|access-date=17 June 2018|language=en-US}} On 22 August 2018, as part of an agreement to reunite the party, Beaulieu ceded the party presidency to Yves Perron; on 17 September 2018, the remaining MPs who had defected from the Bloc rejoined the party and dissolved their breakaway group, Québec debout.{{cite web |url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/national/renegade-mps-to-return-to-bloc-quebecois-caucus |title=Renegade MPS to return to Bloc Québécois caucus |access-date=18 September 2018 |archive-date=18 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918133132/https://montrealgazette.com/news/national/renegade-mps-to-return-to-bloc-quebecois-caucus |url-status=live }}

As the only candidate to have entered the race by the 15 January 2019 deadline, former Parti Québécois cabinet minister Yves-François Blanchet was named leader on 17 January 2019.{{cite web |title=Yves-François Blanchet becomes Bloc Québécois leader |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/yves-fran-ois-blanchet-new-bloc-leader-1.4981556 |publisher=CBC News |access-date=17 January 2019 |date=17 January 2019 |archive-date=14 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114025331/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/yves-fran-ois-blanchet-new-bloc-leader-1.4981556 |url-status=live }} After Blanchet became leader the BQ saw its support increasing in Quebec during the 2019 federal election, which some considered to have exceeded expectations.{{cite web |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/6052964/bloc-quebecois-popularity-maxime-bernier/ |title=Surge in Bloc Quebecois popularity 'a little bit surprising,' says Maxime Bernier |website=Global News |access-date=4 January 2020 |archive-date=25 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225144143/https://globalnews.ca/news/6052964/bloc-quebecois-popularity-maxime-bernier/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1355328/elections-resultats-quebec-province-bloc-quebecois-npd |title=« Nous revenons de loin » : la résurgence du Bloc québécois se confirme |website=Radio-Canada |language=fr |access-date=12 April 2022 |archive-date=22 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122213006/https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1355328/elections-resultats-quebec-province-bloc-quebecois-npd |url-status=live }} The BQ increased its number of seats from 10 in 2015, to 32 seats in 2019, both overtaking the NDP to become the third largest party in Canada and regaining official party status.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/big-gains-for-the-bloc-qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9cois-but-what-did-it-sacrifice-in-the-process-1.5330056|title=Big gains for the Bloc Québécois, but what did it sacrifice in the process? Social Sharing|last=Montpetit|first=Jonathan|date=22 October 2019|publisher=CBC News|access-date=30 November 2019|archive-date=6 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106164018/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/big-gains-for-the-bloc-qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9cois-but-what-did-it-sacrifice-in-the-process-1.5330056|url-status=live}}

In the 2021 Canadian federal election, the BQ led by Blanchet won 32 seats, unchanged from the prior election.{{cite news |last=Connolly |first=Amanda |title=Liberals projected to form minority government |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/8206478/canada-election-results-2021/ |access-date=September 20, 2021 |work=Global News |date=September 20, 2021 |archive-date=December 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229212410/https://globalnews.ca/news/8206478/canada-election-result |url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Tasker|first=John Paul|date=September 20, 2021|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-general-election-results-2021-1.6182364|title=Canadians have re-elected a Liberal minority government|agency=CBC|access-date=September 21, 2021|archive-date=January 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120075227/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-general-election-results-2021-1.6182364|url-status=live}}

The Bloc Québécois held a leadership confidence vote in May 2023. Blanchet won 97% of the vote.{{cite news |first=Erika |last=Morris |title=Blanchet maintains 97% support of Block Québécois members in vote of confidence |date=20 May 2023 |work=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bloc-quebecois-blanchet-vote-of-confidence-1.6850721 |archive-date=2 July 2023 |access-date=2 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702110346/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bloc-quebecois-blanchet-vote-of-confidence-1.6850721 |url-status=live }}

In September 2024, the BQ won a competitive by-election in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun in Montreal.{{Cite web |last=Major |first=Darren |date=September 10, 2024 |title=Upcoming federal byelections will put Singh and the NDP brand to the test - NDP looking to both hold a Winnipeg seat and pull another away from the Liberals in Montreal |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ndp-byelections-test-singh-leadership-1.7317935 |website=CBC News |access-date=11 September 2024 |archive-date=11 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911151244/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ndp-byelections-test-singh-leadership-1.7317935 |url-status=live }} In the 2025 Canadian federal election, the BQ led by Blanchet won 22 seats, a significant decrease from the prior election.

The Parti Québécois has close ties to the Bloc and shares its principal objective of independence for Quebec. The two parties have backed each other during election campaigns, and prominent members of each party often attend and speak at the other's public events. In addition, the majority of each party's membership holds membership in both parties. However, on an organizational level the parties are separate entities – the Bloc is not the federal wing of the Parti Québécois, nor the PQ the provincial wing of the Bloc.

Lucien Bouchard has been the leader of both parties. Michel Gauthier, once Bloc's leader, was a PQ member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1981 until 1988. Former party leader Daniel Paillé was also a PQ member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 1996, and a BQ member of Parliament from 2009 to 2011.

In June 2014, Mario Beaulieu, a former PQ riding president and Bloc candidate, was elected leader of the Bloc Québécois. Notwithstanding his previous ties to both parties, Beaulieu has been critical of what he sees as a too timid approach to sovereignty by both the Bloc and PQ. Beaulieu's election as Bloc leader was more warmly received by the PQ's rival party, Option nationale, than by the PQ.{{cite news|last1=Don|first1=Macpherson|title=Mario Beaulieu's victory shows the Bloc's irrelevance|url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/Macpherson+Mario+Beaulieu+victory+shows+Bloc+irrelevance/9944189/story.html|work=The Gazette|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714181254/http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Macpherson+Mario+Beaulieu+victory+shows+Bloc+irrelevance/9944189/story.html|archive-date=14 July 2014}}{{cite news|title=Les députés bloquistes lancent un appel au calme|url=http://quebec.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/06/17/bloc-quebecois-mario-beaulieu-appel-au-calme-des-deputes_n_5502216.html|access-date=3 July 2014|work=HuffPost|date=16 June 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714144354/http://quebec.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/06/17/bloc-quebecois-mario-beaulieu-appel-au-calme-des-deputes_n_5502216.html|archive-date=14 July 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Gagnon|first1=Lysiane|title=Will the Bloc Self-Destruct?|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/will-the-bloc-self-destruct/article19215051/#dashboard/follows/|access-date=3 July 2014|work=The Globe and Mail|date=18 June 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140622013719/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/will-the-bloc-self-destruct/article19215051/#dashboard/follows/|archive-date=22 June 2014}}

Martine Ouellet was a PQ MNA from 2010 until 2017 and ran twice for the PQ leadership. She continued to sit in the Quebec National Assembly, as an Independent MNA, after she was elected Bloc leader.

In the 2015 election, Parti Québécois leader Pierre Karl Péladeau officially endorsed the Bloc, despite earlier calling the party useless.{{cite web|url=http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/peladeau-offers-tepid-support-for-bloc-quebecois-at-weekend-rally-for-leader-1.2388610|title=Peladeau offers tepid support for Bloc Quebecois at weekend rally for leader|work=Montreal|date=24 May 2015 |access-date=14 October 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150810200752/http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/peladeau-offers-tepid-support-for-bloc-quebecois-at-weekend-rally-for-leader-1.2388610|archive-date=10 August 2015}}

Several incumbent PQ MNAs including Bernard Drainville,{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/BDrainvillePQ/status/654390732942409728 |title=Bernard Drainville on Twitter: "Av @PJT2072 candidat du #Bloc ds Marc-Aur-Fortin & ERobillard de @kinosdesign, concepteur d'affiches de films, Laval" |via=Twitter |date=14 October 2015 |access-date=25 April 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305145950/https://twitter.com/BDrainvillePQ/status/654390732942409728 |archive-date=5 March 2016}}{{Primary source inline|date=September 2020}} Stéphane Bergeron,{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/sbergeron/status/654399539793653760 |title=Stéphane Bergeron on Twitter: "Rencontre de presse suivie d'une visite, plus tôt, au CFP des Patriotes, en cie de @PKP_Qc, @daveturcotte & @caaths." |via=Twitter |date=14 October 2015 |access-date=25 April 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305135122/https://twitter.com/sbergeron/status/654399539793653760 |archive-date=5 March 2016}}{{Primary source inline|date=September 2020}} Maka Kotto,{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/Maka_Kotto/status/650128869471703041 |title=Maka Kotto on Twitter: "Qui est le mieux placé pour représenter nos intérêts à Ottawa?: Le BLOC! @GillesDuceppe Bravo! Tu as surpassé nos attentes." |via=Twitter |date=2 October 2015 |access-date=25 April 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305134537/https://twitter.com/Maka_Kotto/status/650128869471703041 |archive-date=5 March 2016}}{{Primary source inline|date=September 2020}} Dave Turcotte{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/daveturcotte/status/654002067749666817 |title=Dave Turcotte on Twitter: "Rassemblement avec Catherine Fournier du #BlocQc et pkp_qc #TournéePQ #polqc #fed2015" |via=Twitter |date=13 October 2015 |access-date=25 April 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307223127/https://twitter.com/daveturcotte/status/654002067749666817 |archive-date=7 March 2016}}{{Primary source inline|date=September 2020}} and Agnès Maltais{{cite web |author=Agnès Maltais |url=https://twitter.com/AgnesMaltais/status/653232306979774464 |title=Agnès Maltais on Twitter: "Hier, j'ai voté pour Charles Mordret du Bloc Québécois. J'ai apposé ma croix avec fierté à côté de son nom." |via=Twitter |access-date=25 April 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001173002/https://twitter.com/agnesmaltais/status/653232306979774464 |archive-date=1 October 2016}}{{Primary source inline|date=September 2020}} also endorsed the Bloc and campaigned for local candidates.

{{See also|Bloc Québécois leadership elections}}

Until 2015, the party leader was also party president.

{{Portal|Canada|Politics}}

• Bloc Québécois Shadow Cabinet
• List of political parties in Canada
• Mouvement de libération nationale du Québec
• Politics of Canada
• Politics of Quebec
• Secessionist movements of Canada
• Timeline of Quebec history

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.blocquebecois.org/ Bloc Québécois website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20131220142720/http://www.pdac.ca/docs/default-source/public-affairs/bloc-quebecois-platform.pdf?sfvrsn=6 2011 election platform]
• [http://habeascorpuscanada.50webs.com/tripartiteagreement12June1995.html Text of the 1995 tripartite agreement] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130714003044/http://habeascorpuscanada.50webs.com/tripartiteagreement12June1995.html |date=14 July 2013 }}
• {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/dossiers/constitution/ SRC dossier on the constitutional saga]
• [https://wayback.archive-it.org/227/*/http://blocquebecois.org/ Bloc Québécois – Canadian Political Parties and Political Interest Groups] – Web Archive created by the University of Toronto Libraries

{{Bloc Québécois}}

{{Canadian federal political parties}}

{{Quebec sovereignty movement}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloc Quebecois}}

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