It was 25 years ago today – on July 25, 1990 – when former Conservative minister Lucien Bouchard created a new party: the Bloc Quebecois
The new federal political party consisted at the time of only himself, five other former Conservative MPs and former Liberal MP Jean Lapierre.
They had all left their parties following the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, forming a new party that promised to be dedicated to defending Quebec's interests in Ottawa.
In the 1993 federal election, the new party went on to win 54 of the 75 seats in Quebec, narrowly winning official opposition status in the House of Commons.
Declining fortunes befell the party, however, and by the 2011 federal election, the party won only four seats, fewer than the 12 required for official party status.
By August 2014, the party was reduced to two MPs: long-time Bloc MP Louis Plamondon, and Claude Patry, who was elected as a member of the New Democratic Party, but crossed over to the Bloc in 2013.
Two MPs who ran under the Bloc banner quit to become independents, and Maria Mourani left the party and intends to run with the NDP in the upcoming election.
Plamondon, who has been a member of the Bloc since its inception, told La Presse Canadienne that he believes that the failure of Meech Lake left nationalists with two options: “be crushed within the federalist system or take the path of sovereignty.”
According to Plamondon, the Bloc’s future remains promising. He said the return of Gilles Duceppe as leader could allow the party to win between 25 and 30 seats at the next federal election.
With a report from The Canadian Press
