Canadian Press

Tuesday, June 17 – Online Edition, Posted at 2:03 AM EST

Ottawa — The federal Liberals stunned the separatist Bloc Québécois in a pair of by-elections Monday night, snatching two seats that had been in the Bloc column for a decade.

"Obviously there was a wind of change," observed Justice Minister Martin Cauchon, who doubles as political minister for Quebec. "I'm very pleased."

It was a sweet victory as well for Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in his closing months in office — although one he may have to share with former finance minister Paul Martin.

Liberal organizers in both ridings had played up their candidates' ties to Mr. Martin, the front-runner in the continuing race to succeed Chretien at the helm of the party.

Mr. Martin, a transplanted Ontarian who made his private business career in Montreal, has long been more popular in Quebec Mr. Chrétien, the native son, largely because Mr. Martin is seen as less centralist and more accommodating to provincial interests.

But Mr. Cauchon, a longtime Chrétien loyalist, saw things otherwise in parcelling out the credit Monday night.

"The bottom line, for me, is it's a superb vote of confidence in the prime minister," he said.

For Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe, the by-election results were a bitter setback. Mr. Duceppe has faced internal dissent over his stewardship of the party as public support for Quebec independence has waned.

As for the foot soldiers, Liberal Gilbert Barrette, a retired school administrator and regional health official, never trailed in Temiscamingue, a sprawling northern constituency near the Ontario border.

Mr. Barrette took roughly 55 per cent of the total vote and easily outdistanced his nearest rival, local businessman Sylvain Sauvageau who served as the Bloc standard bearer.

Rachel Lord of the Conservatives, Clarence Marshall of the Canadian Alliance and Dennis Shushack of the NDP lagged far behind.

In Levis-et-Chutes-de-la-Chaudiere, near Quebec City, Christian Jobin of the Liberals also led from the start and handily topped the 50-per-cent mark to best Maxime Frechette of the Bloc.

Mr. Jobin is a former mayor of the town of St-Etienne-de-Lauzon, while Mr. Frechette used to be a municipal councillor in St-Nicolas.

Yohan Nolet of the Conservatives, Phillippe Bouchard of the Canadian Alliance, Louise Foisy of the NDP, Yonnel Bonaventure of the Green party and Benjamin Kasapoglu of the Marijuana rounded out the field in Levis.

The two ridings had long been considered Bloc strongholds.

But former MPs Pierre Brien in Temiscamingue and Antoine Dube in Levis, each of whom won three straight times in 1993, 1997 and 2000, have left the federal scene and their replacements couldn't match their success.

The Bloc barely managed to survive Liberal challenges in two other by-elections last December, retaining both those seats with reduced majorities.

But nagging divisions in the separatist camp resurfaced this time around.

In Temiscamingue, former MP Brien abandoned the Bloc to run in the April provincial election for the federalist Action democratique du Quebec. He finished third but split the Parti Québécois vote, allowing Premier Jean Charest's Quebec Liberals to take the riding en route to power.

The provincial riding of Chutes-de-la-Chaudiere, which overlaps the Levis federal constituency, also turned into a three-way fight in April, with the ADQ edging the Liberals and Bloc defector Dube running third for the sovereigntist PQ.

National party standings in the Commons now are: Liberal 171, Canadian Alliance 63, Bloc 34, Conservative 15, NDP 14, Independent 4.

In Quebec, the Liberals now outnumber the Bloc 37 seats to 34, with one Conservative and three Independents.