Duceppe ‘Convinced’ Election Coming, Readies Double-Barrelled Ads On Rivals
Posted September 8, 2009 3:54 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe says he’s convinced Canadians are headed to the polls this fall.
The Bloc is already planning a double-barrelled blast at Michael Ignatieff and Stephen Harper, including ads that tear a strip off both adversaries.
It’s the first time in memory that it’s targeted the two biggest national parties at once, in an indication of how Quebec appears to have become a three-way battlefield.
“I’ve acquired over recent days across Quebec the firm conviction that, barring a major change, there will be an election,” Duceppe told a news conference Tuesday in Quebec City.
“Mr. Ignatieff was clear – he can no longer back away. As for Mr. Harper, he is inflexible and has not given any signs of openness.”
Duceppe said his campaign ads will show Quebecers that his two main rivals share the same restrictive vision of the Quebecois nation.
“Mr. Harper said, ‘We recognized the nation, it’s over.’ Mr. Ignatieff said, ‘Quebec doesn’t need any more powers,’ ” Duceppe said.
“Mr. Ignatieff practically denies the existence of the fiscal imbalance. Mr. Harper tells us that it’s finished.”
Last week, Ignatieff announced that his party will try to topple the Harper government this fall.
The Liberal leader said the fate of the Conservative minority government is now in the hands of the other parties.
Duceppe’s remarks suggest the Tories have only one potential dance partner remaining: NDP Leader Jack Layton.
He indicated that his sovereigntist party is battle-ready, having already named candidates in 67 of Quebec’s 75 ridings.
His party’s campaign strategy this time differs from the last few elections, where he targeted either the Tories or the Liberals and largely ignored the other.
He would not say when the party is planning to launch the ads.
