Canada is set to elect a new government on October 21st, incumbent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has his work cut out. Struggling to keep his government in power the prime minister gave a stellar performance in the recent debate. It somehow managed to revive his fragile campaign.
There was someone else who actually performed well during the debate, the leader of the separatist Bloc Quebecois, Yves-Francois Blanchet. According to a report in Reuters, the leader was deemed as a clear winner of the debate which happened on October 2nd.
Blanchet had been able to push the party forward from the divisions that had harmed them earlier and make them a serious contender for the 78 seats in Quebec. The state of Quebecois has been a contested topic which has dominated Canadian politics for decades.
Trudeau’s Liberal Party currently has 40 seats from the region. The rise of the Bloc would pose a serious challenge for his party. Given that his campaign was smeared with controversy after photographs of the Prime Minister with blackface had emerged, it could be a tough ask for him to maintain his majority.
The elections in Canada can also see a major shift if the Bloc gets serious gains and chipping off the seats from the Liberals. The official opposition, The Conservative party saw a below-par performance in the debate, with opposition leader Andrew Scheer struggling in the debate due to his patchy French.
According to a report in Reuters, Blanchet said that the bloc would be willing to work with either party if a minority government comes to power and further said that, ” In most cases, we could negotiate gains for Quebec in the context of a minority government.”
(inputs from agencies)