The status quo of Liberals and Conservatives at the helm of Canadian federal politics may soon be disrupted. Conservatives are leading the polls in every province except Quebec. But the Bloc Québécois, a party that only contests seats in Quebec, could emerge as the official opposition. The latest 338Canada data suggests the party could place second with 45 seats, far behind the Conservatives’ projected majority of 237. The Liberals, polling at a historic low, are on pace for 37 seats, while the NDP is hovering in fourth place with a projected 22 seats. However, one defining feature of present-day Quebec nationalism is the fight against multiculturalism, according to UQAM political science professor André Lamoureux. “The Bloc is fighting against the multiculturalism conception of the federal states. The Bloc Québécois has a more universalist conception of society,” he said, defining “universalism” as assimilation into Quebec culture.
