TORONTO -- The Bloc Quebecois鈥� hopes of increasing its number of seats in the House of Commons were dashed as Liberals won another minority in Monday鈥檚 federal election.

As of 1:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday, the Bloc is leading or elected in 32 seats in Quebec, the same number from it result in the 2019 election.

Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet won his own riding of Beloeil鈥擟hambly for the second time, with 53 per cent of the vote.

鈥淭he result is hard to comment,鈥� Blanchet said in a speech following the election. 鈥淭he percentage is pretty much the same. The amount of seats is about the same. It is about the same for pretty much everyone.鈥�

 

鈥淨uebecers are not expecting less from the Bloc Quebecois and from each of our elected candidates.鈥�

The Bloc are gaining in the ridings of Brome-Missisquoi and Chateauguay-Lacolle, while the party is behind in the Berthier-Maskinonge and Longueuil-Saint-Hubert ridings.

The 32 seats, if held once final election results are in, would leave the Bloc Quebecois with third party status in the House of Commons. The NDP are elected or leading in 26 seats as of early Tuesday morning.

When it came to the popular vote, the Bloc hold a roughly 0.5 per cent lead over the Liberals in Quebec, with nearly 1.12 million votes as of Tuesday at 1:30 a.m.

Blanchet ran on a campaign of protecting the values of Quebec that included plans to bring a vaccine production plant to the province and increased health-care transfer payments for the province.

鈥淭his hostage situation of the financial capacity of the provinces is threatening provinces and Quebec," Blanchet said, referring to the increased costs of essential health care that provinces are facing.

鈥淚t is a fight that the Bloc will never let go of.鈥�

Quebec, with several ridings that could have seen three-way races, became a focal point for the party leaders throughout the campaign.

Following the second official federal leaders鈥� debate, Quebec became a focus following a question regarding the province鈥檚 secularism bill, which bans civil servants from wearing religious symbols or garb.

The law has been criticized for being discriminatory, but Blanchet has defended it.

"It became a tool to say Quebec is this and that and racist and xenophobic and all of that," Blanchet said in the debate.