One of the things Rob and I have not addressed so far in our back and forths has been Quebec. Quebec in all likelihood will shape what happens in the rest of the country come October 14th.
Not sure if readers are aware, but I found this bit of information our War Room has put out stunning: "THE BLOC'S LEGISLATIVE RECORD: IN 18 YEARS, 255 BILLS WERE TABLED, BUT ONLY FOUR WERE PASSED."
It is amazing when you think about that. The Bloc has been with us for nearly 20 years and only four of their bills were passed. If they were being graded on production, they would have been fired long ago. It is hard to argue they have been a strong voice for Quebec with a record like that. Now that they have put sovereignty on the back-burner, which is what led many Quebecers to support them in the first place, more questions are being asked about their relevance.
In Liberal circles, one of the real challenges Stephane Dion is going to have is to improve Liberal fortunes in his home province. Based on different polls, he is not doing it with great success yet. I think Quebeckers are still punishing the Liberals for the sponsorship scandal and Dion has connection challenges with his own people. I am still watching to see what the Liberals will do to address these two things.
The big dogs of federal politics in Quebec, the Bloc and the Libs, just don't have the bite they once did. The barking for attention now can be heard coming from the Conservatives and the NDP. Real inroads are certainly being made by the Tories.
Guess we will see what happens in a month. Something to watch for sure.