Gilles Duceppe may be facing a frontal assault from ex-members of his own party who say the Bloc has lost its way — but at least one trusted ally remains.

Duceppe is campaigning today in a riding where a former BQ MP is running against the Bloc, because she says Duceppe is not firm enough on the issue of Quebec sovereignty.

However, Duceppe says beginning next week, Parti Québécois leader, Pauline Marois, will start making appearances at Bloc rallies.

Marois was supposed to deliver a speech at the Bloc's campaign launch, but she was forced to cancel at the last minute. Officials at first believed she had come down with food poisoning. However doctors ultimately determined Marois had appendicitis. She was hospitalized for several days and underwent emergency surgery.

— Tim Duboyce