In case there was a sliver of doubt who Gilles Duceppe considers his chief opponent in the election, all nuance was wiped away in a speech to the largest rally of the Bloc campaign so far.

Well over 2,000 Bloc supporters filled a large convention hall in St-Hyacinthe, Que.

Tim Duboyce

All but one or two BQ candidates took the stage and served as a human backdrop as Duceppe delivered a speech full of what can only be described as fiery vitriol, all aimed squarely at Stephen Harper.

Supporters chanted Duceppe's name, and cheered wildly at times, as the BQ boss went further than ever before in his character attacks against the Prime Minister.

He called Stephen Harper a "liar", a "cheater", and said Harper lacks "any sense of morality", tying the verbal bludgeoning to funding cuts in the arts, a promise to crack down on young offenders, and for plaigiarizing past speeches.

Duceppe pronounced Harper's name 61 times during the 29 minute speech, (for the mathematically challenged, that's more than twice a minute) while making no mention of any other party leader.

— Tim Duboyce