Bloc: appetite for Quebec independence will return once relationship with U.S. improves

Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet at a press conference in Ottawa on March 10, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

The appetite for Quebec independence will return with a vengeance when the political and trade environment with the United States becomes more stable, said Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet on Thursday.

He made the comments at a press conference in Quebec City, with a federal election due in the next few weeks.

The most recent Léger poll conducted for The Canadian Press suggested that Blanchet’s sovereigntist party is down to 25 per cent support in Quebec, compared with 37 per cent in January. Mark Carney’s Liberals had 36 per cent support.

Another opinion poll by the same firm in early February suggested 29 per cent support for the independence option, a five-year low.

According to Blanchet, President Donald Trump’s aggressive rhetoric is designed to arouse fear.

But, in the opinion of the Bloc leader, once the negotiations are concluded in a year or 18 months, the environment will have become stable again and thinking about independence can resume naturally.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 13, 2025.