LOTBINIERE, Que - Stephen Harper paid a return visit to Quebec on Tuesday to continue his pitch to rural voters in a region that's key to his chances of winning a long-sought majority.
The districts outside Quebec's major centres represent the Conservative party's best chances in the province, so that's where Harper went to sell the Tory government as Quebec's only hope for power and access.
Harper took straight aim at the Bloc Quebecois, saying they don't represent the interests of all regions of the province.
The Bloc Quebecois' slogan shouldn't be "Let's talk Quebec,'' said Harper at a late afternoon rally near Quebec City.
"It should be let's only talk Montreal.''
The nexus of Tory power in Quebec is around the provincial capital, but the campaign strategy is to win over the rural heartlands by capitalizing on their traditional antipathy towards Montreal.
Harper went into a solidly Bloc riding earlier Tuesday to prove the point.
At fire hall in Victoriaville Harper re-announced two measures from the failed Tory budget that were aimed squarely at rural Canadians _ forgiving a portion of student debt for health care professionals who practice in remote areas and a tax credit for volunteer firefighters.
"Only the Conservative party understands that you have the right to have the same possibilities as people who live in big cities,'' Harper said.
Later, at a whistlestop in Drummondville, Harper told the hand-picked crowd at a local restaurant that their choice was clear: the empty talk of the Bloc Quebecois or a Conservative government that works.
"I am confident that on May 2, Quebecers will choose to give power to their region.''
Harper also said that a promise to compensate Quebec for harmonizing the PST and GST would be enshrined in the Conservative platform.
Had a deal on the issue been reached in time for the last federal budget, it's possible Harper wouldn't need a platform at all.
The Bloc Quebecois had said they'd prop up the Tory spending plan if the party would include $2.2 billion to compensate the province for bringing the taxes in sync.
But a deal wasn't reached in time for the budget, Harper said.
Where that money is going to come from remains unclear.
"This will be a significant cost, but it is a one-time cost for this year _ it will not change the overall downward path of the deficit over the next few years,'' he said.
To combat the power of the Bloc, which holds 47 of the province's 75 seats, the Conservatives have dedicated a campaign bus solely to Quebec. Christian Paradis, Harper's lieutenant in the province, spearheads that effort.
He was one of several high-profile Quebec Tories who attended Harper's late day rally.
One issue expected to blunt Tory support in Quebec is the decision to deny funding for an arena that could bring an NHL team back to Quebec City.
But Paradis said Tuesday that it hasn't been an issue on the road.
"This isn't the business of the federal government and we've been explaining it to people,'' Paradis said after Harper's rally.
"They understand.''
