Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said he is ready to work with the Liberal Party of Canada under a temporary truce as the government takes on U.S. President Donald Trump.
Blanchet stressed it would not be a blind alliance, adding he expects Prime Minister Mark Carney’s party to make concessions on French-language protections, Quebec’s immigration capacity, the province’s secularism Bill 21 and pipelines.
“The key word is stability – that’s what people want,” Blanchet told journalists Tuesday morning.
He said Trump’s tariffs, the trade war and the “fairy tale” of annexation quickly pushed Canadians to the Liberal party, which is poised to hold a minority government.
The Bloc is projected to lose 10 seats while the New Democratic Party (NDP) has lost official party status.
Blanchet said his party has the “opportunity to work differently” in the face of an “incompetent brute” whose political interference “makes China’s look like camaraderie.”
“Federalist parties will have to be worked with because we have a crisis managed by the Canadian government,” he said.
Blanchet called Carney the “incarnation” of an international, federalist and multicultural economist, while the Bloc is separatist and wants a green economy with a focus on small and medium businesses.
“We will be different, won’t get along on everything, but we will have to show restraint. I genuinely believe Quebecers and Canadians expect the new parliament to be stable and responsible,” he added.
Blanchet said partisanship should be put aside for the time being, adding he cannot fathom another election for at least a year and some months as negotiations with Trump could intensify ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.
“Unless there’s another crisis or crass bad-faith partisanship, there is no scenario other than collaboration for the next year or so,” he said.
Blanchet added Bloc MPs will be able to bring forward Quebec’s economic strengths like aluminum production, hydroelectricity and its aerospace sector.
That said, Blanchet said he will never stop working toward Quebec’s independence.
On Tuesday morning, Parti Québécois (PQ) Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon called Carney a threat to Quebec’s interests and said sovereignty took a hit this election.
Nevertheless, Blanchet said he still sees “independence as being very successful” and the Bloc “will keep speaking about it when circumstances call for it.”
“I am certain that in the federal parliament, we first have to deal with the negotiations; it will be a matter of months, we can do that,” said Blanchet. “I intend to contribute to fixing this thing without compromising Quebec’s interests.”
