The Pollcast: What happens to the Bloc after the big split?

The CBCPollcast explores the world of electoralpolitics,political polls and the trends they reveal.

The Bloc Qubcois once formed the Official Opposition and held the balance of power in the House of Commons. On Wednesday, the much-diminished Bloc was further reduced when seven of the party's remaining 10 MPsleft the Bloc's caucus.

Their departure was driven by disagreements over the leadership of Martine Ouellet. She says she isn't going anywhere. So where does the party go from here?

• What the Bloc's bigsplit could mean for 2019
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The Bloc, which won a majority of Quebec's seats in every election between 1993 and 2008 under the leadership of Lucien Bouchard and Gilles Duceppe, collapsed in 2011 when the party's voters swung en masse to the New Democrats and only four Bloc MPs survived the cull.

Though the party's vote share dropped again in 2015, the party benefited from three- and four-way races to win 10 seats.

After Duceppe's return in 2015 and his failure to win a seat, the leaderless party acclaimed Ouelletas its new chief in March 2017. The former Parti Qubcois MNA, who currently sits as an independent in Quebec's National Assembly, has pushed the Bloc to put its emphasis on Quebec independence.

Along with claims that Ouelletemploys an abrasive leadership style, her focus on sovereignty has divided the party between those who agree with her and those who think the party should stick to its former role as asovereigntist party that focuses on defending Quebec's interests in Ottawa.

Seven MPsincluding Louis Plamondon, the longest-serving MP in the House, who has been with the party since its earliest days,and Rhal Fortin, who was interim leader after Duceppe's (second) departure gave Ouellet an ultimatum asking her to step aside. When she didn't, the seven MPsleft caucus; they will now sit as a "Groupe parlementaire qubcois."

Ouellet says she intends to stay in her job. But where does that leave the Bloc?

To explain how the Bloc got here and what's next for the party, Pollcasthost ric Grenier is joined by Marie Vastel ofLe Devoirand Radio-Canada's Philippe-Vincent Foisy, two reporters who cover the Bloc on Parliament Hill.

Listen to the full discussion above or subscribe to the CBCPollcast here and listen to past episodes.

Follow ric Grenier, Marie Vastel and Philippe-Vincent Foisyon Twitter.