Bloc Québécois loses seats but could hold sway in next Parliament, Blanchet says

MONTREAL — The Bloc Québécois could become “extraordinarily important” in the next Parliament, leader Yves-François Blanchet said early Tuesday, after an election night that saw his party lose seats but emerge with the potential to hold the balance of power in a Liberal minority government.

“It’s possible that in the future history of Quebec and Canada, the issues we’ve identified could become resolutely unavoidable for the government of Canada,” Blanchet told supporters at a downtown Montreal theatre.

As of 1 a.m., the Bloc was leading or elected in 23 ridings, down from the 33 it held at Parliament’s dissolution.

But the few dozen Bloc supporters who gathered at a downtown Montreal theatre were in high spirits, waving Quebec flags and breaking into a loud cheer when TV networks projected that Mark Carney’s Liberals would form a minority government, rather than a majority.

It was a difficult campaign for the Bloc Québécois, who were faced with a resurgent Liberal party and a national conversation centred on who could best manage U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs and annexation.

In the end, the party retained most of its support but lost seats to the Liberals, who picked up ridings in the suburbs around Montreal on its way to a projected minority victory.

The losses included Alain Therrien, the Bloc House leader, who lost his riding south of Montreal to Liberal Jacques Ramsay.

Blanchet, in his speech, said the night was one of mixed emotions.

“There were colleagues, candidates, people that I appreciated, who went to the front, and didn’t win their ridings,” he said.

He also thanked his volunteers and supporters, who he credited with “holding back a wave with your hands.”

While the announcement early in the night of a projected Liberal government drew almost no reaction in the room, big cheers went up for Bloc candidates such as Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe and Louis Plamondon as they were declared elected.

Some of the loudest celebrations were for lawyer and former journalist Alexis Deschênes, who unseated former Liberal cabinet minister Diane Lebouthillier in the eastern Quebec riding of Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj.

Party supporter Robert Bélanger, who showed up in a blue cowboy hat and a fleur-de-lis T-shirt, said he was hoping the party would keep most of its seats.

“Our language is in danger and I want us to protect it,” he said ahead of the results. “I don’t know if newer generations will be able to speak it in a few years, it will change a lot.”

He said he was concerned with Ottawa’s interference in areas of provincial jurisdiction such as health care, as well as protection of the French language and secularism.

Blanchet, in his speech, promised that his MPs would not behave in a “frivolous” way, and would study each issue and vote in accordance with Quebec’s interests.

“Canada, with the support of Quebec, will be stronger in its negotiations with the United States and can inspire other nations in the world that will be confronted with the same difficulties when faced with the American president,” he promised.

He said that in the next Parliament, the Liberal government would have to ensure Quebec’s interests are respected if it wants his party’s support.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2025.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press