The old saying, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

It's fitting for what I'm about to write, which may sound ludicrous at best.

It's well known that the Bloc Québécois and the Parti Québécois want Québec to separate from Canada and form an independent country, I think it's safe to say this without doubting its truth or disputing its validity.

But is there another political party, one from English Canada, that also wants Québec to separate?

I read Maude Barlow's Too Close for Comfort: Canada's Future within Fortress North America years ago, and at one point within she mentions that Stephen Harper was opposed to multiculturalism, public health, public education, the wheat board, Canada Post, unions, gender equality, multilingualism, anything public, anything communal, any initiative created by and/or for the people, people power, disliked by Stephen Harper, kings and queens, CEOs, loved, cherished, kowtowed to.

Please forgive me if I've left something out of her list or added something that wasn't there previously. I don't have a copy of the book with me to fact check.

I think it's safe to say that since 2011 Harper has lived up to Barlow's depiction of his reputation and attacked what Too Close for Comfort feared he would attack, a sustained omnibus assault on Liberal politics, a blitzkrieg in action, no hesitation, no debate, no consultation, no fear.

But what about Québec? How does Québec fit into this?

Québec isn't necessarily at odds with the rest of the country in its pursuit of social democratic ends, Ontario has the same basic public grid, and British Columbia hasn't elected a right wing government in decades either, analysis of Christy Clark's performance pending.

But it's hard for the Conservatives to win seats in Québec, Québec's presence in Canada necessitates bilingualism and at least biculturalism at the Federal level, Québec often looks to Europe more closely than the United States for inspiration, and I've only met one person in Québec who doesn't refer to Harper with loathing, although my social networks are quite small.

But more importantly, Québec is a have not province and the rest of the country sends billions of dollars in transfer payments to Québec every year, money that would become a loan if Québec in fact separated.

Québec would take its portion of the federal debt with it as well (I'm assuming a debate over the size of that debt would last at least a decade) and then have to replace all of the services currently provided by the Federal government with homegrown Québécois ingenuity, which would cost billions.

Québec would receive much more tax revenue, but would it be enough to even pay the interest on their debt, which is already significant, after their portion of the Canadian debt is added to it, and they suddenly have to replace all of the services currently provided by the Federal government?

Not to mention all the Anglo businesses that will take their billions to Toronto and set up shop.

But the Bloc and PQ do want to separate, and they're banking that they can separate without creating an economic disaster that leaves their country looking more like Honduras than Switzerland.

If the Conservatives encourage this behind the scenes, a secret deal made between the Conservatives and the Bloc and the PQ, they'll be rid of a significant thorn in their side, and without the threat of Québec voting against them every election, it will be much easier for them to win majority governments, assuming they continue to wield influence in Ontario, which will be easier to influence if Québec is out of the picture.

But there's also this.

If Québec does go bankrupt, English Canada, the United States, Britain and France can effectively buy everything in Québec, it would be like a garage sale, they could pick up billion dollar industries for a song and then take all the profits for themselves after their capital restabilizes the region.

Do the Conservatives want Québec to separate from Canada?

I can't answer that for certain, but I'd wager they do.

The Bloc and the Conservatives are certainly using the same strategies to win seats in the current election.

Imagine that, one of the founding fathers of an independent Québec, Stephen Harper?

I'm sure stranger things have happened.

But in the history of Canada, that's a big, unequivocal, nope.  

*Also, note how Harper has been applauding how his government has created laws that can strip dual citizens of their Canadian citizenship this week. That's one of the biggest problems with Québec separation. Every citizen within the province will likely be able to apply for dual Canadian citizenship if Québec separates. There's a bit of a pesky kerfuffle.