There’s been much talk about the Liberals' poor showing in Monday's Quebec byelections. The same for the NDP win in Outremont and how the Conservatives managed to steal a seat from the Bloc Québécois in Roberval.

There’s been much less talk about the Bloc and its byelection victory in Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot. But the party's brain trust doesn't mind that at all. In fact, they would very much like to forget most of what happened Monday.

Yeah, the Bloc won Saint-Hyacinthe, but not by much. And the tightness of that race with the Conservatives may be leading to a rethink of the party's strategy in Quebec and, in particular, how aggressive it intends to be towards the Harper government from now on.

In the last federal election, less than two years ago, former MP Yvan Loubier cleaned up handily by more than 15,000 votes. This time, the winning edge was more like 1,500.

What's more, the Conservatives placed second and that set off alarm bells inside Bloc ranks.

The Bloc, you see, finds itself in an odd position. Its raison d’être, sovereignty, has been put on the backburner thanks to the strategizing of its provincial counterpart, the Parti Québécois.

And this is a problem because the Bloc doesn’t seem sure of what else to talk about.

There are those inside the party who believe the key is to oppose the Conservatives more firmly. That would be instead of voting with the government or propping it up, as the Bloc has done in the past (think of the government’s motion recognizing Quebecers as a nation or the government’s attempt to resolve fiscal imbalance).

That’s why next month's throne speech, setting out the Conservative agenda, will be key, not just for the government and whether or not there will be an election, but in determining the Bloc's long-term strategy for the future.

The Bloc has been written off before and has still managed to bounce back. But if the Saint-Hyacinthe byelection is any sign, next time might be harder.