Bloc Québécois
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The Bloc Québécois ([blɔk kebekwa], lit. 'Quebecker Bloc', BQ) is a federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion of Quebecois sovereignty. The Bloc was formed in the early 1990s by Members of Parliament (MPs) who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative Party and Liberal Party during the collapse of the Meech Lake Accord. Founder Lucien Bouchard had been a cabinet minister in the federal Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney. The Bloc seeks to create the conditions necessary for the political secession of Quebec from Canada and campaigns exclusively within the province during federal elections. The party has been described as social democratic and separatist (or "sovereigntist"). The Bloc supports the Kyoto Protocol, abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights, legalization of assisted suicide, abolition of the Canadian Senate, abolition of the monarchy, the Quebec secularism law, and supports exempting Quebec from the requirements of the Multiculturalism Act. From the 1993 federal election until 2011, the Bloc was the largest party in Quebec and either the second- or third-largest party in the House of Commons through seven straight federal elections. The 2011 election saw the party win just four seats and lose official party status after a wave of support for the New Democratic Party. By 2014, the party had been reduced to two seats because of resignations and expulsions. In the 2015 election, the Bloc won 10 seats, even though the party's leader Gilles Duceppe failed to win a seat. In the 2019 election, the party won 32 seats, regaining official party status as a result. In the 2021 election, their seat count remained the same as the 2019 election. In the 2025 election, the party saw a decline in seat and vote share after increased support for the Liberal Party under Mark Carney. Due to the 2019, 2021, and 2025 elections resulting in a series of Liberal minority governments, the Bloc shared the balance of power with the New Democratic Party. The Bloc has strong informal ties to the Parti Québécois (PQ, whose members are known as Péquistes), a provincial party that advocates for the secession of Quebec from Canada and its independence; however, the two parties are not linked organizationally. As with its provincial counterpart, the Bloc Québécois has been supported by a wide range of voters in Quebec, from sections of organized labour to more conservative rural voters. Members and supporters are known in French as bloquistes (pronounced [blɔkist]).