US embassy cable - 03OTTAWA1098

UNCLAS OTTAWA 001098 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, CA, Liberal Party 
SUBJECT: CANADIAN POLITICS: QUEBEC LIBERAL PARTY 
VICTORY--WHAT DOES IT MEAN? 
 
REF: QUEBEC 55 
 
1. By most accounts, the surprise victory of the Quebec 
Liberal Party (QLP) in the  April 14 elections has sounded 
the death knell for the separatist agenda.  In the words of 
one pundit, QLP leader Jean Charest "is the first unambiguous 
federalist to head a Quebec government in decades, a sign of 
how much sovereignty (...) has turned into a dormant issue." 
At the same time, Bloc Quebecois (the federal party) leader 
Gilles Duceppe and others assert that 45 percent of Quebec 
remains "sovereigntist" at heart and will keep the hope of a 
separate Quebec alive by voting for the Bloc nationally. 
 
2. Both PM Chretien and his likely successor, Paul Martin, 
have said they are pleased with the electoral outcome. 
Martin graciously attributed this "federalist" victory in 
Quebec to the retiring PM's tenacity on federation throughout 
his tenure in politics.  Other observers of the 
federal-provincial dynamic, however, caution that Charest, 
for all his "federalist" credentials, is a strong proponent 
of decentralization and thus likely to be more or a thorn in 
the side of government on health care, housing, and other 
issues that depend on federal funding allotments. 
Nonetheless, the prospect of not having to deal with the 
issue of sovereignty bodes well for Canada's next Prime 
Minister, whoever he or she may be.  As the constitutional 
critic for the Opposition (Canadian Alliance) told the press, 
this is the first time in a long while that the threat of a 
referendum "will not be hanging over our head." 
CELLUCCI