Bloc Québécois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet received overwhelming support from members of his party in a vote of confidence on Saturday, with 97.25% of the vote in favor.
“The vote of confidence is not about me, it’s about all of us,” he said at the party’s annual convention in Drummondville, Que., about 100 kilometers northeast of Montreal.
“The vote of confidence, because it contains the word ‘confidence’, must be about Quebec… about the responsibility we have towards our citizens to become a country.”
Blanchet reiterated that the main objective of the party is Quebec sovereignty and mentioned its long-standing collaboration with Parti Québécois (PQ) separatists.
He described his party as a one-stop shop for all sovereigntists, but said the PQ was the “main party vehicle in Quebec.” Bloc MPs passed a proposal acknowledging that its role is to bring together separatists of all persuasions under one roof while acknowledging its historical ties to the PQ.
According to PQ leader Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon, who was present at the convention, the Bloc is at a “historic moment”. He said the PQ will use all its resources to ensure the Bloc breaks records in the next federal election.
Blanchet attacked the federal government, the fossil fuel industry and the British monarchy in a speech to Congress, saying “Ottawa is ready to sacrifice everything for oil.” He accused Canada of being a “petromonarchy”.
“The problem is the fans of the British royal family, lovers of oil and the monarchy who use your money to attack our values,” he told a cheering crowd.
“We have to take Ottawa out of the equation.”
Under Blanchet, the party won 32 seats in back-to-back federal elections in 2019 and 2021.