WATCH: Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe talks about his return to federal politics to lead the party into the 2015 election.
Gilles Duceppe doesn’t care who, he cares what. If, after this fall’s federal election, he can help either the Conservatives or the Liberals and NDP form a coalition government, he’ll choose whoever offers the best deal for Quebec, he said.
“That’s my only concern, what’s the best deal for Quebec,” Duceppe said in an interview on The West Block with Tom Clark.
“It’s a question of what are you getting and what are you asking and what did you say during the last campaign?”
His move back to leading the Bloc took almost everyone, including Duceppe, by surprise.
Fewer than two weeks ago, the thought of returning to federal politics was nowhere near Duceppe’s radar.
WATCH: Pollster says Duceppe is popular in Quebec but that won’t necessarily mean votes
That all changed when then-Bloc Quebecois leader Mario Beaulieau asked him to come back.
Duceppe was evasive, but hinted that Bloc leadership had internal polling showing the party would do better with him at the helm.
READ MORE: Gilles Duceppe returns to lead Bloc Quebecois into upcoming federal election
“I never comment on polls, but I will tell you also, don’t believe a political party if they tell you they don’t make polls,” he said in an interview on The West Block with Tom Clark.
What effect the former-slash-current Bloc leader has on voting in Quebec – where the NDP is polling strongest – is difficult to determine right now, said Youri Rivest, vice president of Quebec-based polling company CROP.
“Duceppe is very popular. His awareness is very high,” Rivest said. “Even people who don’t vote for him respect him.”
READ MORE: Is Gilles Duceppe set to lead the Bloc once again?
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That respect among Quebecers, and focus on the province, is likely part of what Duceppe will rely on as election day draws near and he aims to separate his party from the NDP.
If Quebecers vote for who might form government, they could be stuck with the status quo, Duceppe said.
Since then, he said, Quebec’s interests have been far from the floor of the House of Commons, he said.
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