The Bloc Québécois, Quebec's sovereigntist party at the federal level, remains the third largest party in the Canadian House of Commons after federal elections on Tuesday. The Bloc won 50 out of Quebec's 75 seats, with the Liberal Party winning 13 and the Conservative Party 10, while the New Democratic Party (NDP) and an independent candidate took one seat each.

At the federal level, the Conservatives came out on top in 143 electoral districts, or ridings, out of 308 in the whole of Canada. The Liberals were second with 76 seats, the Bloc Québécois third with 50 seats, the NDP fourth with 37 seats, while two seats went to independents. Stephen Harper's party therefore remains in power, but failed to reach its objective of an absolute majority in parliament, due in no small part to the party's heavy losses in Quebec.

Quebec's sovereigntists are currently in a stronger position in the federal parliament than in the provincial parliament since the Parti Québécois (PQ) - the name for the Bloc at the provincial level - is only the third largest party in the Parliament of Quebec.

According to Canadian and Québécois media sources, the leader of the Bloc, Gilles Duceppe, was one of the most visible politicians during the election campaign, directly challenging Harper on issues such as funding for the arts, prison management and the financial crisis.

"The Québécois nation has spoken, and it's clear it can't be content with just a symbolic recognition," Duceppe said in response to the election results. "This nation has a language, and this language is French." There were two debates between the leaders of Canada's main parties during the election campaign, one in English, the other in French. French and English are official languages throughout Canada, except in Quebec, where only French has official status.

Indigenous peoples notably absent
Canada's indigenous peoples - Inuits, Métis, and Amerindians - were almost entirely absent from the election campaign, despite the federal government's historic apology to the aboriginal population last year. In an attempt to break this silence, representatives of indigenous communities implemented a number of initiatives: one Inuit leader posed twelve questions to the parties standing in the election; the National Métis Council released a statement saying that it is looking forward to working with the new executive; and the Assembly of First Nations, which represents the Amerindian population, answered questions from voters on indigenous issues.

Further information:

• CBC.ca: Bloc remains strong in Quebec; Tory support steady
• Canoë: Duceppe invite Harper à gouverner en faisant des compromis
• National Post: Bloc: Quebec stands firm, Tories, NDP held back
• Election results