Five MPs who left the Bloc Quebecois earlier this year are expected to confirm Monday that they are returning to the party.

An announcement by interim leader Mario Beaulieu and one of the party's founders, Louis Plamondon, is scheduled for 11 a.m.

The five existing members of the Bloc and the five who left met in Ottawa late Sunday afternoon, the day before the resumption of parliamentary proceedings, to settle the details of their reconciliation.

The Bloc Quebecois was plunged into turmoil in February when seven of its ten members suddenly left the political party in order to denounce party leader Martine Ouellet.

She stepped down in June after garnering 32 per cent support from members in a vote. Two dissident MPs, Michel Boudrias and Simon Marcil, then returned to the Bloc.

The party decided in August to embark on a refounding project in the hope of bringing back the remaining five deputies, and formed an executive composed of representatives of the two clans: those who supported the leadership of Martine Ouellet and those who opposed it. Mario Beaulieu then yielded his seat as party president to Yves Perron, an activist who opposed Ouellet.

The interim leader spent the last month working behind the scenes to rally the five MPs who had come together under the name of Quebec Debout.