Brian Mulroney may have left his hometown of Baie-Comeau a long time ago, but in this St. Lawrence seaside town, he is not forgotten — not even by Bloc Québécois members.

Gilles Duceppe made a whistlestop in Baie-Comeau, delivering a speech to about 100 BQ supporters at Le Manoir, the unctuous-yet-rustic hotel where Mulroney was camped out the night his Progressive Conservatives swept into power in 1984.

Some of Duceppe's followers have only favourable memories of the former prime minister. As the Bloc leader worked the room, preparing to take to the mic and tout the necessity for Quebec independence, at least two gentlemen in the crowd were all too ready to tip their hats to Mulroney's legacy as leader of Canada.

One gentleman, Hector, says even though he supports the Bloc now, Mulroney was a man to be admired. His friend (who didn't offer a name) says Mulroney was a star on the world stage as the Berlin Wall came down, and sanctions helped bring an end to apartheid in South Africa.

Both say it's different when your MP is the PM: local support comes automatically. However both chuckled at the idea of Stephen Harper one day running here to secure the seat for the Conservatives in a future election.

—Tim Duboyce