Bloc Quebecois may be worried about support it used to count on

By Elizabeth Thompson
Canwest News Service

Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe walks during a campaign stop at the Western Festival in St-Tite, Q.C. on Saturday. (Mathieu Belanger/Reuters)

ST-TITE, Que. - Watching as Gilles Duceppe worked the crowd of Stetson-wearing festivalgoers at the Festival Western de St-Tite, Richard Parizeau was describing why the Bloc leader won't be getting his vote this time out.

"Duceppe has done his time," said the resident of St. Canut, near Mirabel, north of Montreal. "I have nothing against
him, but I don't see his usefulness anymore."

While he's not crazy about Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to break his promise on fixed election dates, he feels Harper has generally done what he said he would do.

Parizeau has voted Bloc and Parti Quebecois in the past. But in the last provincial election he voted Action Democratique and this time out, he's planning to vote Conservative. Liberal Leader Stephane Dion isn't even a consideration, he says, dismissing Dion's Green Shift as "little green men."

In many ways, Parizeau is an example of the key challenge facing the Bloc Quebecois in this election. While many rural Quebecers who have voted for the sovereigntist party in the past are sticking with the Bloc, others such as Parizeau are tired of the debate over sovereignty and are turning to Harper's
Conservatives.

For the first time in years, the Bloc is facing the prospect of tough battles in areas it had previously assumed were safe. Adding to the challenge for Duceppe is the fact that the Liberal vote has nearly melted away in many ridings outside of the Montreal area, meaning there is less likelihood of the Bloc
benefiting from a split in the federalist vote.

While public opinion polls show the Bloc still leading in Quebec, in the province's rural areas, the Conservatives and the Bloc are only a few points apart.

Ask Duceppe if he's worried and he will deny it. However, his itinerary tells a different tale. In the first week of the campaign, he spent virtually all his time in ridings the Bloc already holds - many of which are being eyed by the Conservatives.

This time out, he appears also to be campaigning with more energy than he has shown in the last couple of elections.