Following devastating results for the Bloc Quebecois party, Gilles Duceppe announced Monday night that he will step down as leader.
“Democracy has spoken, I respect this choice, and I assume responsibility for it,” he said to a crowd that chanted his name upon arrival.
“This year, you decided differently,” he said of Quebec voters.
Duceppe then promised that the party would persevere “until Quebec becomes a country,” to which the audience roared in applause.
He said that the party will hold a leadership convention in the near future.
In a speech to party faithful, Duceppe thanked voters in Laurier-Ste-Marie for electing him for 20 years and said that he accepted their desire for change.
He noted that NDP leader Jack Layton promised many things to Quebec and said that he hoped to see positive change for Quebec within Canada.
While Bloc supporters didn’t all agree on what lead to their party’s bitter defeat, they all agreed on the fate of the Bloc.
All of them said this did not mean the end for their party — they will be back in four years.
One sovereigntist even said tonight’s results will help the seperatist cause.
Vladimir De Thezier, a member of the Intellectuals for Sovereignty, said, "This is like a gambit in chess. You sacrifice a piece to win the game," he believes Quebecers will see they don’t have a place in Stephen Harper’s Canada.
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