'There are two Quebecs': Montreal and the regions, laments Yves-Francois Blanchet

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet speaks in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby)

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet says he is "extremely worried" that Montreal and the rest of Quebec are becoming "detached from each other."

"There are two Quebecs. Unfortunately, that's becoming true," he told The Canadian Press, echoing the words of a question asked to clarify his thoughts.

First, there is Montreal, which is becoming "a bilingual city at best, possibly multilingual in a very passive way where the history, language, values and culture of its very generous host society are being marginalized," he said. "And there's a Quebec that looks at Montreal as if Montreal is becoming a foreign place."

He argues Montreal is no longer the second-largest French-speaking city in the world.

In the metropolis, "a large part of what we are is being abandoned in favour of what should enrich it," he said.

The situation is "very serious," said Blanchet. "It has to be one culture, one nation, with all its diversity. That's Quebec. And we're running away from that."

TWO MONTREALS?

Université de Sherbrooke political science professor Jean-François Daoust, who specializes in public opinion polls and nationalism, argues from an electoral standpoint, there is no doubt that Montreal stands apart from the rest of Quebec.

However, he calls the dichotomy "simplistic," as one could argue there are "two Montreals" given the enormous differences in beliefs.

The eastern part of the island, he says, is much closer to the rest of Quebec than the west, which could be explained by socio-demographic differences.

Language, for example, is "one of the most important predictors" of the Bloc vote.

Daoust asserts that Montrealers are different from the rest of Quebec because they are believed to have values and opinions that are more progressive or liberal.

"When you're more liberal, you vote more for a party that's in line with those values," he said.

However, Daoust's Université Laval colleague Éric Montigny says the Bloc could fit in this category.

"It's a party that positions itself to the left on social issues," he said, noting this is also the case economically.

A Montreal electorate that is left or center-left is "not hostile ground," Montigny adds, as the party talks a lot about environmental issues, something that resonates well in the metropolis.

As for multiculturalism and interculturalism, Montigny believes that "one of the challenges of a political leader is not to play anthropologist or sociologist but to try to bring people together through political discourse."

'WE WON'T GIVE UP ON MONTREAL'

Blanchet says he believes that his party has its work cut out for it when it comes to the big city.

"We won't give up on Montreal," he insisted.

The Bloc currently holds 32 of the 78 seats in Quebec, with just one in Montreal -- La Pointe-de-l'Île in the east end of the city.

Of the 17 other federal ridings on the island, 16 are Liberal and one -- Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie -- is NDP.

As he prepares to mark five years as leader on Wednesday, Blanchet says he's proud of having revived a party that was all but dead, declaring that he once again wants the Bloc to be the voice of Quebec in Ottawa.

In contrast, Justin Trudeau's Liberals have 35 MPs in the province, three more than the Bloc Québécois, who nonetheless won more votes.

Montigny explains that becoming the leading party in terms of seats means making gains and offsetting any losses to the Conservatives, who are hunting Bloc territory outside Montreal.

He adds that to stay alive, the Bloc must target ridings where it has a history and a presence.

"That's the case on the Island of Montreal: from the east end to the heart of Montreal," Montigny insists.

Among former breakthroughs, he notes that former Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe was elected in Laurier-Sainte-Marie, a riding made up of parts of the Plateau-Mont-Royal.

In the more cultural communities, Osvaldo Núñez, a candidate of Chilean origin, was elected in 1993 in Bourassa, which includes Montréal-Nord.

Daoust warns, however, that the territory where the Bloc can hope to make gains "is receding further and further east," compared to its best years, when it held up to seven ridings.

Historically, the Bloc has also held, sometimes very briefly, certain ridings, such as Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Ahuntsic, Papineau, Anjou-Rivière-des-Prairies and Jeanne-Leber.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 14, 2024.