Bloc Québécois

Leader

Yves-François Blanchet

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Positions on Issues

• AI & Technology Regulation

  The Bloc Québécois supports the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (the third part of the 44-1 Bill C-27 that died on the Order Paper) with strengthened Quebec-jurisdiction protections, alignment with Quebec's Law 25 privacy framework that took full effect September 22, 2024 (CQLR c. P-39.1), full Quebec representation on any federal AI-governance bodies, and proactive Quebec-language-of-work protections in federally regulated AI deployments. Supports the AI-Industry Code of Conduct voluntary framework launched September 2023 but argues it must be made mandatory under federal statute.

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• Affordable Internet & Digital Equity

  The Bloc Québécois calls for full federal-provincial coordination on rural-broadband deployment in Quebec's regions (Nord-du-Québec, Gaspésie, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean still have approximately 12 percent of households without 50/10 Mbps service per CRTC 2024 data), supports the federal Universal Broadband Fund with Quebec administrative control over Quebec-targeted disbursements, and opposes the Liberal-Conservative consensus on regulating wireless prices through the CRTC's mobile-virtual-network-operator (MVNO) framework as insufficiently aggressive on the Big Three carriers (Bell, Rogers, Telus).

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• Agriculture & Food Security

  The Bloc Quebecois defends Quebec's supply-management system covering dairy, poultry, and eggs (Quebec accounts for approximately 47 percent of Canadian dairy production), pushed for and obtained Bill C-282 (Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act amendment, S.C. 2024, c. 9 royal assent June 13, 2024) that prevents the federal Minister of Trade from committing to further supply-management concessions in trade negotiations, defends the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) as a model of agricultural representation, and supports federal funding for Quebec dairy farmers as compensation for CUSMA and CETA market-access losses (the federal government allocated $1.75 billion over eight years to dairy farmers in 2019).

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• Arts, Culture & Heritage

  The Bloc Québécois defends Quebec's distinct cultural-industries jurisdiction and pushed for Bill C-13 (Official Languages Act reform, S.C. 2023, c. 15) French-content protections in federally regulated broadcasters and streamers. Supports increased federal funding for Radio-Canada specifically (separate from CBC), opposes any Federal weakening of the Online Streaming Act protections for French-language original-content production quotas, calls for full Quebec administrative control over Canadian Heritage funding flowing into Quebec including Telefilm Canada and Canada Council for the Arts grants, and defends the Caisse de dépôt's cultural-industries investment portfolio.

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• Climate & Environment

  The Bloc Québécois supports continued Quebec administration of its cap-and-trade system in place since 2013 with linkage to California's market (the Western Climate Initiative), full Quebec exemption from the federal carbon-pricing backstop on the consumer fuel charge (Quebec is exempted because the WCI satisfies the federal benchmark), expansion of the SOPFEU and the Ministère de l'Environnement budget through unconditional federal transfers, and federal accommodation of Quebec's distinct industrial emissions framework. Opposes federal climate measures that would compromise Quebec's hydroelectric-driven low-carbon energy mix and the Northvolt and GM Bécancour EV-battery cluster's regulatory environment.

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• Climate Adaptation & Disaster Response

  The Bloc Québécois supports increased federal Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements funding for Quebec (current DFAA funding flows through the federal-provincial framework with Quebec administrative responsibility), increased federal investment in Quebec coastal-erosion adaptation (Quebec's Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and Gaspésie regions are highly vulnerable per Ouranos consortium projections), and the federal-provincial Canada Wildfire Service expansion in support of Quebec's SOPFEU (Société de protection des forêts contre le feu) which fought the 2023 record-breaking wildfire season that burned 4 percent of Quebec's productive forest.

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• Cost of Living

  The Bloc Québécois has called for increased federal Old Age Security for seniors aged 65 to 74 to match the 10-percent boost that 75-plus recipients received in 2022 (Bill C-12 of 44-1, S.C. 2022, c. 5), elimination of the federal carbon-pricing backstop for Quebec (which Quebec is already exempt from due to its cap-and-trade system meeting the federal benchmark), full Quebec administration of the GST/HST on Quebec consumer transactions (Quebec already administers the HST equivalent QST), federal support for Quebec-specific cost-of-living measures, and a windfall-profit tax on grocery chains earning over $1 billion in net income flowing as transfer to provincial cost-of-living programs.

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• Crime & Public Safety

  The Bloc Québécois has supported the federal Bail Reform Act (Bill C-48, S.C. 2023, c. 30, royal assent December 5, 2023, in force January 4, 2024) which made reverse-onus on bail apply to certain repeat violent and weapons offences. Defends Quebec administrative authority over Surete du Quebec (provincial police force, founded 1870) and Quebec-City and Montreal municipal police services. Supports federal firearms framework reform consistent with Quebec's stricter framework than other provinces (Quebec's Bill 9 of 2018 added an additional permit requirement on certain restricted firearms beyond federal requirements under the Firearms Act, R.S.C. 1995, c. 39).

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• Democratic Renewal & Electoral Reform

  The Bloc Québécois supports the federal first-past-the-post system (the Bloc has historically benefited from FPTP's seat-vote-share gap in Quebec, winning 32 of 78 Quebec seats with 32.8 percent of Quebec votes in 2021), opposes proportional representation that would dilute regional party representation, defends Quebec's distinct procedural authority over its provincial electoral system under Bill 17 of 2022 (Loi modernisant la Loi électorale), and pushes for stronger restrictions on foreign-interference and third-party advertising under the Canada Elections Act. Supports voting age remaining at 18 (opposes Bills C-227 of 44-1 and C-210 of 45-1).

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• Digital Rights

  The Bloc Québécois supports federal digital-rights legislation that respects Quebec's distinct civil-law and consumer-protection framework, including alignment with Quebec's Law 25 privacy regime (Loi modernisant des dispositions legislatives en matiere de protection des renseignements personnels, R.S.Q. 2021, c. 25 which took full effect September 22, 2024). Defends Quebec representation on any federal data-governance bodies, opposed Bill C-11 (Online Streaming Act) provisions that did not adequately protect French-language original-content production quotas, and supports the AI-Industry Code of Conduct framework launched September 2023 made mandatory under federal statute respecting Quebec jurisdiction.

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• Disability & Senior Care

  The Bloc Québécois has demanded an increase in federal Old Age Security for seniors aged 65 to 74 to match the 10-percent boost that 75-plus recipients received in 2022 (Bill C-12 of 44-1), is pushing for a Canada Disability Benefit higher than the $200-per-month threshold the Liberals announced for 2025, and insists that all senior-care funding flow as unconditional transfers respecting Quebec's exclusive jurisdiction over health.

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• Drug Policy & Harm Reduction

  The Bloc Quebecois supports Quebec's harm-reduction-oriented drug policy framework, including the network of approximately 12 supervised consumption sites (mainly in Montreal and Quebec City), the prescribed-safer-supply pilots, and the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services Public Health Strategy on addictions. Demands federal funding for harm reduction flow as unconditional transfer to Quebec, opposes the Smith UCP Alberta-style recovery-only framework, and supports the continued federal exemption under section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (S.C. 1996, c. 19) for supervised consumption sites in Quebec.

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• Economy & Jobs

  The Bloc Québécois defends Quebec's economic sectors that depend on federal regulatory framework: the aerospace cluster around Montréal (Bombardier, CAE, Pratt and Whitney Canada, with approximately 41,000 direct jobs per Aéro Montréal data), the pharmaceutical sector, and the forestry industry facing US softwood-lumber duties. Supports French as the language of work in federally regulated workplaces in Quebec (a 2023 C-13 Official Languages Act amendment), opposes federal subsidies that flow disproportionately to Ontario auto-sector projects (e.g., the $13-billion Volkswagen Stellantis battery-plant subsidies), and calls for full Quebec tax-administration control including federal personal income tax.

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• Education

  The Bloc Québécois holds that education is the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces under section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867. It opposes federal student-loan changes that override Quebec's separate Aide financière aux études program, supports federal transfers to Quebec for post-secondary education and skills training, and has voted against federal bills that would create direct federal program delivery in education (e.g., the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act amendments).

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• Federalism & Quebec

  Defining issue. Advocates for Quebec sovereignty over the long term and full Quebec opt-out from federal programs with unconditional transfers in the meantime. Opposes federal use of the spending power in areas of provincial jurisdiction.

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• Foreign Policy & Defence

  The Bloc Quebecois defends Quebec's economic interests in federal trade and foreign-policy decisions, particularly Quebec aerospace contracts (Bombardier, CAE, Pratt and Whitney Canada with approximately 41,000 direct aerospace jobs in Quebec per Aero Montreal data), defends the federal Bill C-282 protections for Quebec dairy farmers (supply management), supports federal humanitarian commitments to Ukraine post-2022 Russian invasion (Quebec hosts approximately 80,000 Ukrainian refugees per Statistics Canada 2024 estimates), opposes federal arms exports to Saudi Arabia (Canadian arms exports to Saudi Arabia exceeded $4 billion since 2014), and supports Canadian recognition of the State of Palestine alongside Israel under the two-state solution.

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• Gender Equality & Reproductive Rights

  The Bloc Québécois defends Quebec's separate framework for abortion-rights protection (Quebec was the first jurisdiction in North America to provide publicly funded surgical and medical abortion under provincial healthcare coverage from 1977; the federal Bill 50 of 1969 partially decriminalized abortion, fully decriminalized after R. v. Morgentaler 1988). Supports federal funding for women's shelters flowing through unconditional transfer to Quebec, defends Quebec's Bill 96 protections of French as the language of work in federally regulated workplaces, and supports the Pay Equity Act (S.C. 2018, c. 27, s. 416) federal-public-sector pay-equity audit accountability.

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• Healthcare

  The Bloc Quebecois insists that healthcare is the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces under sections 92(7) and 92(16) of the Constitution Act, 1867. Demands a Canada Health Transfer (CHT) increase to 35 percent of provincial healthcare costs (from the current approximately 22 percent per the 2023 federal-provincial 10-year $196 billion CHT increase that Quebec rejected as insufficient). Opposes federal direct delivery of dental care, pharmacare, and mental-health programs in Quebec, demanding unconditional transfers respecting Quebec jurisdiction. Negotiated and signed the asymmetrical March 2023 Quebec-federal CHT agreement giving Quebec full administrative autonomy.

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• Housing

  The Bloc Québécois supports federal funding for housing flowing as unconditional transfer to Quebec rather than through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation direct-delivery programs in Quebec, demands full Quebec administrative control over the Housing Accelerator Fund disbursements to Quebec municipalities, and pushes for federal recognition of Quebec's distinct social-housing framework under the Tribunal administratif du logement and the recently created Programme d'habitation abordable Quebec (replacing AccesLogis). Maintains that the federal National Housing Strategy 2017 has flowed disproportionately to non-Quebec jurisdictions per the Bloc's Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer analysis.

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• Immigration

  The Bloc Québécois has consistently called for Quebec to control all immigration to its territory, including the federally administered family-class and refugee-class streams that currently bypass Quebec's annual immigration-plan thresholds. Bloc demands an asymmetrical federal-Quebec immigration arrangement matching the 1991 Canada-Quebec Accord but extending to temporary foreign workers, international students, and asylum-seekers. Brought after Quebec's Bill 96 (CAQ government's French-language reinforcement) led to friction with federal immigration thresholds. Supports the post-March 2023 Roxham Road closure as relieving pressure on Quebec social services.

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• Indigenous Rights

  The Bloc Quebecois supports the full implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (S.C. 2021, c. 14) with Quebec administrative autonomy over its 11 First Nations and the Inuit Nation of Nunavik (under the 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement). Defends the 1985 Quebec National Assembly's unanimous recognition of the 11 Indigenous nations of Quebec, supports the federal government's response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 Calls to Action with reporting on Quebec-specific progress, and pushes for federal-provincial-Indigenous tripartite governance models on Indigenous services in Quebec.

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• Languages & Bilingualism

  The Bloc Quebecois supports the federal Bill C-13 (Official Languages Act reform, S.C. 2023, c. 15) including the French-language-of-work rights in federally regulated workplaces in Quebec, defends Quebec's Charter of the French Language (Bill 101 of 1977, extended by Bill 96 of 2022) against federal-Bill-C-13 interpretive constraints, calls for stronger federal recognition of Quebec's distinct linguistic-jurisdiction-and-protection framework, supports the Quebec Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) administrative reach over federally regulated workplaces in Quebec, and pushes for federal funding for French-language preservation outside Quebec via unconditional transfers.

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• Mental Health

  The Bloc Québécois has consistently called for transfer-payment increases to Quebec for mental-health services rather than direct federal program delivery. The Canada Health Transfer's 2023-2028 federal-provincial Working Together agreement included $25 billion over 10 years specifically for shared health-priorities including mental health; Bloc demands the Quebec portion ($5.9 billion expected) flow as unconditional transfer respecting Quebec's exclusive jurisdiction. Supports the 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline (launched November 30, 2023) but insists on Quebec administrative control over service delivery in Quebec via Info-Social 8-1-1.

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• National Security

  The Bloc Québécois supports increased Canadian defence spending toward the NATO two-percent-of-GDP target only if achieved without cutting federal transfers to Quebec, defends Quebec's aerospace industry contracts under the new F-35 fleet acquisition (Pratt and Whitney Canada engine maintenance, CAE flight simulators), supports the public inquiry into foreign interference (the Hogue Commission delivered its final report in January 2025) with Quebec-specific findings, and pushes for stronger federal counter-foreign-interference legislation specifically targeting Beijing's pressure on Sino-Canadian Quebec MPs (the May 2023 Han Dong case).

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• Northern & Arctic Sovereignty

  The Bloc Québécois recognizes Northern and Arctic sovereignty as a primarily federal jurisdiction but advocates for the territorial integrity of northern Quebec (Nord-du-Quebec, Nunavik with its 11,000 Inuit residents under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement of 1975). Supports increased federal funding for the Plan Nord infrastructure corridor, strengthened Canadian Coast Guard presence in the St. Lawrence and Eastern Arctic, and the Quebec position that Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay are Canadian internal waters. Supports defence spending at the NATO two-percent threshold if achieved without cutting transfers to Quebec.

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• Public Transit & Infrastructure

  The Bloc Québécois supports federal transit funding through unconditional transfers to Quebec rather than direct federal program delivery, defends Quebec administrative control over the Quebec-portion of the permanent Canada Public Transit Fund ($3 billion per year starting 2026-2027), supports the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) light-rail expansion into the East and South Shore of Montreal, the projet de tramway de Québec under the Legault CAQ government, and the VIA Rail High-Frequency Rail Quebec-Toronto corridor with route through Quebec. Opposes federal funding flowing to Ontario auto-infrastructure projects disproportionate to Quebec's economic share.

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• Tax & Fiscal Policy

  The Bloc Québécois has consistently pushed for a federal Web Giants Tax on digital platforms (Google, Meta, Amazon, Netflix) earning over $1 billion in Canadian revenue, full Quebec administration of its share of federal corporate income tax (Quebec already administers personal income tax for Quebec residents under a 1972 agreement), increased equalization-formula stabilization for Quebec, and elimination of the federal Lifelong Learning Plan double-counting that the Bloc says disadvantages Quebec students under the Aide financière aux études program.

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• Veterans & Military Families

  The Bloc Québécois supports the Auditor General's 2022 finding (Report 2 on Processing Disability Benefits at Veterans Affairs Canada) that VAC's first-time disability-claim processing time of approximately 47 weeks on average exceeds the legislated 16-week target. Calls for full federal-Quebec coordination on veterans' mental-health and long-term-care services, increased per-veteran Veterans Independence Program funding, and Quebec administrative control over the VAC service-delivery network for Quebec-resident veterans (approximately 130,000 veterans in Quebec per VAC data). Supports the Pension Act and Veterans Well-being Act benefit indexation to inflation.

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• Workers' Rights & Labour

  The Bloc Québécois supported the federal Anti-Scab Bill C-58 (S.C. 2024, c. 12, royal assent June 20, 2024) that brought federal labour law in line with Quebec's 1977 anti-scab law and BC's 1993 anti-scab law. Calls for expansion of the Employment Insurance sickness benefit beyond the 26-week maximum (Bill C-31 of 44-1, S.C. 2022, c. 17) to 50 weeks to match terminal-illness coverage, EI base eligibility lowered to 420 hours uniformly across all regions (currently varies from 420 to 700 hours by unemployment rate), and full Quebec administration of federally regulated workplaces in Quebec under expanded Bill 96 reach.

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• Youth & Future Generations

  The Bloc Québécois has long pushed for federal recognition of Quebec's higher youth-policy engagement model, including the Quebec Secretariat to Youth (Secretariat a la jeunesse) and the Quebec Youth Council (Conseil quebecois de la jeunesse) which operate independently of any federal counterpart. Supports federal funding flowing as unconditional transfer to Quebec for youth-employment, post-secondary, and skills-development programs, opposes federal direct-delivery of youth programs in Quebec (e.g., the federal Youth Employment Strategy operating in parallel to Quebec's program), and supports voting age at 18 (opposes Bills C-227 of 44-1 and C-210 of 45-1).

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