What the heck is "the Bloc"?
Did you want to take that one Adrian, I'm afraid I'll use to much profanity in my description.
It's like "da 'HOOD", only more upscale.
> What the heck is "the Bloc"?
Bloc is short for Bloc Quebecois, the party that wants independent Quebec.
I'll try it without any profanity. Since I'm an American, I can't guarantee it's 100% accurate:
The Bloc Quebecois is a Quebec-only political party that is not affiliated with the main Canadian national parties (Liberal Party, Conservative Party of Canada and New Democratic Party, or NDP). They are for greater Quebec sovereignty, among other (generally liberal) things.
The only parties that really compete in Quebec since the demise of Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative Party are the Liberals and the Bloc. Since about 1 in 4 Canadians live in Quebec, this makes it difficult for the Conservative Party to actually win a majority of seats in Parliament. They'd have to do a lot better in Ontario than they are currently doing to make up for sure Quebec losses. 32% in Ontario's not going to cut it.
C'est "Le Bloc"--the Quebecois (Quebecer) interest Party. ...sorta like a nationalist group that wants more control and stuff for Quebec, only. ...corrections from Canadians welcome, here.