ST-LAMBERT - Clearly rattled by polls showing Layton's New Democrats riding an unprecedented wave of support in Quebec, Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe summoned the help of a political heavyweight.
Duceppe campaigned in St-Lambert on Montreal's south shore Monday alongside former Parti Quebecois premier Jacques Parizeau.
Parizeau told Bloc supporters the party is the only that can defend Quebec's interests and urged members of his former Parti Quebecois to help their political cousins in the final week of the campaign.
The staunch sovereigntist opened his remarks by commenting on the coalition debate that dominated the early days of the campaign.
He said Quebecers should be mindful of the promises federal party leaders are making, and consider whether they can actually deliver.
Pledges of more doctors, as well as more support for homecare and daycare are laudable, he said, but they are actually dependent on the provinces for delivery.
"So tell me, as far as Quebec is concerned, what are they going to do?" he asked. "They know full well they don't have the power to decide because they know those things belong to Quebec City in terms of jurisdiction."
While the longtime advocate of an independent Quebec acknowledged that his provincial compatriots generally fall into one of two political camps, he insisted voters across the province should remain united, for now.
"Those who are saying give us back part of our taxes, they remain federalists; and those who want all their taxes back, they are called sovereigntists," he explained.
"At one point our paths will diverge, but right now in Quebec we all share the same interests. That is to ensure, as Duplessis would say, that they give us back our spoils."
In order to make sure Quebec gets its share, he added, Quebecers have to return the Bloc to Ottawa.
"It's surprising how many topics we can agree on in Quebec City in order to adopt a common front, but for that, as they say in football, you need a receiver," Parizeau said.
"And that's the central role being played by the Bloc Quebecois."
Parizeau later conceded that the constant watchdog role assumed by Duceppe and his Bloc caucus may not be an easy one, "but it is essential."
The former premier also went on the attack, carefully skewering the surging NDP and its popular leader without mentioning either by name.
"The fact is we can have all these social concerns we are witnessing during this election, and those who are proposing these ideas may look friendly," he said, conceding that the NDP has caught Quebecers' attention.
"When people say those things with a smile we may say, 'Well, this is quite tempting,' but as I was saying, obviously, they're just trying to throw dust in our eyes."
Bloc Quebecois appealing to their base
Watching the campaign from CTV's national election desk, reporter Scott Laurie said the return of the controversial figure -- perhaps best remembered by Canadians outside Quebec for his championing sovereignty, and blaming the loss of the 1995 referendum on "money and the ethnic vote" -- belies the Bloc's confidence.
"This is clearly a sign that the Bloc Quebecois is not just worried about the new energy that Jack and the NDP has in Quebec, but their hardcore, die-hard base are perhaps bleeding over to the NDP camp."
Duceppe reached out to those voters over the weekend, in a highly-scrutinized Twitter update that suggested the election amounts to a battle between Quebec and the rest of Canada.
Although the post was later replaced with a toned-down call for sovereigntists to stand with the Bloc against federalists, Duceppe's message marks a departure from his attempts in recent years to broaden his appeal beyond those calling for Quebec's separation from Canada.
In that light, summoning Parizeau bolsters the impression Duceppe is keen to shore up the Bloc's base of support.
Parizeau, who earned a PhD from the London School of Economics, was a key advisor to the Quebec government during the 'Quiet Revolution' in the 1960s.
By the end of the 1960s, he was an avowed sovereigntist and card-carrying member of the PQ.
When Rene Levesque led the PQ to a 1976 provincial election win, Parizeau served as his loyal minister of finance. The pair had a political falling out in the mid 80s, after Levesque shifted his support from unequivocal sovereignty to a negotiated agreement with Ottawa.
Parizeau was elected PQ leader in 1988, and eventually led his party to a majority win in 1994. That paved the way for a promised sovereignty referendum the next year.
When the results were tallied, the 'Yes' side lost by just a few thousand votes. Parizeau conceded defeat, but nevertheless stirred a hornet's nest of controversy in his concession speech with the "money and the ethnic vote" remark as well as his characterization of the Francophones who voted 'Yes' as 'Nous' or 'Us.'
Parizeau later distanced himself from the remarks, but he nevertheless resigned as PQ leader and Quebec premier the day after his controversial speech.
Although the once outspoken champion of sovereignty has kept a relatively low profile since then, he broke his silence last week when he wrote in Le Devoir that current PQ leader Pauline Marois was not doing enough to prepare for a new referendum in the event her party wins the next election.
Despite his lower profile, Parizeau has not entirely escaped politics in his retirement. His wife and former secretary Lisette Lapointe has served as a PQ MNA in the northern Montreal electoral district of Cremazie since 2007.
With files from The Canadian Press
