Two Bloc Members Urge Quebec to Vote NDP

Former top staffers say Quebecers should do their part to advance a social democratic platform in Ottawa.

Two members of the Bloc Québécois have penned a letter calling for Quebecers to vote NDP on Monday to prevent another Conservative minority. Maxime Bellerose, a former Bloc riding president, and Benoît Dumuy, an adviser to former Bloc MP Réal Ménard, wrote that the party's time in Ottawa should come to an end and let its provincial equivalent lead the way to sovereignty. The two say the NDP's popularity in Quebec provides voters with a chance to help put a social democratic stamp on the federal government, as the Bloc and NDP share a common vision of strong social programs that the other parties do not. Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe, campaigning in a Gatineau riding thought to be one the NDP can steal, dismissed the notion.