‘A Canadian dream that no longer exists in reality’

Gilles Duceppe charms an American audience.

“One thing is certain: Our relationship with the U.S. would be the focal point of a sovereign Quebec’s foreign policy,” Duceppe said at the event co-hosted by the Canadian Institute of the U.S.-government-funded Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Hudson Institute. “The United States already has a very solid ally in Canada. Should Quebec become a sovereign state, the U.S. would have two very solid allies for the price of one.”

… Duceppe said the low approval ratings of Charest, now in his third mandate, indicate the premier’s departure is imminent leading up to the next election, which must be called before 2013. “There are many reasons to think that events may begin moving quite quickly and that Quebecers will be making a decision on their political status for the third time,” Duceppe said.