Bloc leader Blanchet 'open' to meeting with Alberta separatists

OTTAWA — Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet says he’s willing to meet with leaders of Alberta’s growing pro-independence movement, following provincial counterpart Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s whirlwind Calgary visit last week .

Blanchet said Wednesday that he was pondering his own goodwill voyage to Wild Rose Country before the Parti Quebecois leader beat him to the punch.

“I thought about it, but I understand since Paul (St-Pierre Plamondon) did it, it’s not necessary for me to do the trip,” Blanchet told reporters on Parliament Hill.

Blanchet said that he was nevertheless “very open” to the prospect of meeting and sharing ideas with Alberta separatists.

“We have to start, all independentist voices and leaders, to explain who we are, what we want, the way we would do it and what would be the morning after,” said Blanchet.

Blanchet’s comments come one week removed from St-Pierre Plamondon’s two-day visit to Calgary, where the PQ leader made contact and reached a broad understanding with leaders of the pro-independence Alberta Prosperity Project (APP).

St-Pierre Plamondon’s office confirmed the next morning that he’d made assurances to the APP delegation that, as premier, he’d respect the results of a successful referendum on Alberta independence, marking the first time in history that a PQ leader has publicly endorsed another province’s independence movement.

The PQ is heavily favoured to win the upcoming provincial election, expected for next fall, and St-Pierre Plamondon has promised to hold a referendum on Quebec’s independence in his first term as premier.

St-Pierre Plamondon has been critical of the Bloc, under Blanchet’s leadership, for straying too far from the goal of Quebec independence. He personally admonished Blanchet after the recent federal election to return to his “separatist roots.”

Blanchet, for his part, hasn’t hesitated to tweak Albertan politicians and the province’s budding separatists.

When asked in May if he had any advice for Alberta separatists, Blanchet said that their first challenge will be to “define oneself as a nation.”

“Therefore, it requires culture of their own. And I’m not sure oil and gas qualify to define a culture,” he joked.

Blanchet offered, during a war of words with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith last September, to personally coach her on how to better advocate for her province with Ottawa.

Jeffrey Rath, a lawyer with the APP, was quick to extend an open invitation to the Bloc leader.

“We would be pleased to meet with M. Blanchet. We see this as a furtherance of APP’s role to encourage dialogue on independence to better educate our fellow Albertans on how much better off we will be outside Canada,” said Rath.

National Post rmohamed@postmedia.com

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