Disappointed with only 18 seats in Parliament, Lucien Bouchard resigned as leader of the BQ to focus his efforts on Quebec independence at the provincial level
Despite strong polling numbers, the BQ suffered a disappointing election night. While the Progressive Conservatives faltered in Quebec, the Liberals took advantage - and the Bloc didn't. The adamantly federalist party humiliated the BQ, winning Quebec in a landslide in leaving the Bloc gaining only eight seats, a huge upset. Bouchard, disappointed, felt that trying to work through a referendum on Quebec sovereignty with the Liberals holding the vast majority of Quebec seats in the House of Commons was pointless. He accepted the role of leader of the Parti Québécois, the unofficial provincial branch of the Bloc (or, rather, the bloc was the unofficial federal branch of the PQ).
Running were two MPs from opposite wings of the party:
Michel Gauthier, the establishment favorite
Michel Gauthier, MP for Roverbal-Lac-Saint-Jean: Gauthier is the establishment's candidate, closely aligned with Bouchard's own conservative viewpoints. He is seen, however, as a bad fit for a party that is increasingly drawing support from Quebec left-wing. He is little known among the party's base, and has been mostly anonymous in parliament thus far.
Francine Lalonde, the activist's choice
Francine Lalonde, MP for Mercier: Lalonde is a lifelong trade union activist, who in her later years became a university professor. A longtime advocate for Quebec sovereignty, she has the support of the base but is considered too radical and too far left for the BQ's ex-Progressive Conservative establishment.
Two days for this one, and the winner leads the Bloc into the next election.
Poll
