... not quite to the mooring mast ...

"The federalist vote is in play." -- A. Columnist, June 26, 2004: "The arrival of the Bloc Quebecois in 1993 removed any possibility of the near-sweeps the party enjoyed in the Trudeau era. But in this election the Liberals have lost not only the nationalist vote — they’ve lost the federalists. This is an event of historic significance, not only because the majority of Quebecers are federalists, but because they are a more stable political element: the foundation stone, indeed, of 80-odd years of Liberal hegemony. "For now they are parking their votes with the Bloc. But in the next election the Conservatives will come knocking." Flash forward to January 16, 2006: Conservative support surges in Quebec

The Tories have raced far ahead of the Liberals as the preferred option of federalists in the province. The Bloc Quebecois remained the favourite among Quebecers with 45 per cent support but Conservative Leader Stephen Harper will no doubt be buoyed by the 28 per cent recorded by his party. Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberals, the traditional voice for Quebec federalists, stood at 14 per cent, five percentage points ahead of the NDP.

Five points ahead of the NDP.