In its length, in its cost and in its debate schedule, this election is unusual. The first and possibly only real debate of the campaign ended and here are the highlights of what happened.

A Huffington Post review of Elections Quebec records shows Conservative and NDP MPs have donated to separatist causes since 2000. A review of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s days as a Reform MP reveals he pushed Jean Chretien’s Liberal government to accept a 50%+1 majority result during the 1995 Quebec referendum.

The NDP launched robocalls yesterday to attack their former MP Claude Patry for defecting to the Bloc Quebecois last week. Patry left the party because of their stance on the Clarity Act and Quebec nationalism.

NDP MP Claude Patry in the Quebec riding of Jonquière-Alma has defected to the Bloc Quebecois becoming the second of the Orange wave to leave the Official Opposition. Patry leaves citing his stance on Quebec sovereignty sparking backlash from the governing Conservatives on the NDP’s commitments to Canada. Patry will join the other 4 remaining Bloc Quebecois MPs changing the seat count to 5 for the BQ and 101 for the NDP.

The NDP’s Unity Act states that if Quebec sovereigntists can garner 50%+1 of the votes in a referendum, or a bare majority, Quebec can form its own country. The bill would repeal the Clarity Act which was introduced in 1995 when Quebec came marginally short of separating from the rest of Canada and inherits the bulk of the views that were taken with the Sherbrooke Declaration of 2005. Additionally, this kind of policy would never work within the NDP itself.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper campaigned on having a “strong, stable, national Conservative Majority Government” to protect Canadians from a “coalition with the separatists.” It turns out that after a secret meeting with former PM Brian Mulroney and current Quebec Premier Jean Charest, Harper is ready to work with the separatists.

The Quebec government has announced today that it will do everything in its power to dilute Harper’s new crime laws and soften its clout.

Stephen harper may proudly pronounce that the Conservative Party is Canada’s party but if we look at the trends and the likely factors that brought the May 2011 result, we can see a different picture arise.

The NDP may have chosen Nycole Turmel as their interim leader, but that doesn’t change her previous separatist ties. While she claims that she joined the Bloc Quebecois in 2006 because a friend urged her too and didn’t like their principles, five years later, she now finds herself as interim leader of the NDP… If she really didn’t agree with the Bloc Quebecois, why would she have had a membership for five years? Not to mention that she is also a member of Quebec’s Quebec Solidaire Party which also puts Quebec sovereignty as their top priority.