From 1993: Will the Bloc hold 'balance of power' in Ottawa?
The outcome wouldn't be known for another month or so, but polls were suggesting in September of 1993 that the Bloc Québécois could win dozens of seats and hold the balance of power in the next Parliament.
But what would that really look like? CBC's Midday asked Lucien Bouchard, then the party's leader, to explain.
Lots of reasons to go to Ottawa
The Bloc leader saw strategic reasoning in sending sovereignists to Ottawa, as it would help them co-ordinate their efforts with their provincial peers to hold another referendum on Quebec separation.
"There will be — I hope, at least — a referendum on sovereignty in Quebec two years from now ... and we have to be able to work in a coherent way," Bouchard explained to Midday.
Bouchard also said that until sovereignty became a reality, Ottawa would continue to make decisions that would affect Quebec — and if they were elected to Parliament, Bloc members rather than federalist-minded MPs would help steer those decisions.
'Work positively' with Parliament
Bouchard told Midday the Bloc would not "create chaos" in Parliament, as that would not sit well with its supporters.
Instead, the Bloc would aim "to work positively in a concerted way, abiding with all the rules of the House of Commons, but using the strength that the parliamentary system is giving to parties like ours if we succeed," Bouchard said.
He said a minority government would make things "much easier" for the Bloc, but Bouchard said having a large number of MPs in Ottawa would still be beneficial for the party, even if it occurred with a majority government in power.
Ahead of the 1993 election, the Bloc Québécois had already seen one member elected — Gilles Duceppe, who won a byelection three years earlier.
The party also had a handful of other members who had left other parties and become part of the resulting Bloc, which did not initially hold official party status in Parliament. That group included Bouchard, who had been a Progressive Conservative cabinet minister prior to his high-profile exit from the government ranks.
The vote of Oct. 25, 1993, brought many changes to the House of Commons: The Liberals won a majority government, the Progressive Conservatives won just two seats and the Bloc ended up forming the Opposition.
