Quebec poll shows separatists regaining popularity

OTTAWA, May 27 (Reuters) - The separatist Bloc Quebecois has regained its position as the most popular political party in Quebec, a development that will make it harder for a mainstream party to win a majority in Canada's next federal election, according to a poll released on Wednesday.

The CROP survey for La Presse newspaper showed the Bloc with 36 percent public support in the largely French-speaking province, up 5 points from a poll carried out by the same firm a month ago.

Support for the main opposition Liberal Party slipped 5 points to 32 percent while the governing Conservatives remained at 15 percent.

The Bloc's strong grip on Quebec's 75 seats in Canada's House of Commons is a major reason no party has been able to forge a majority government since mid-2004. The Bloc currently holds 48 of those seats.

CROP said a 65 percent of Quebecers were unhappy with the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the highest figure since the Conservatives won power in January 2006. The Liberals say he is mishandling the effects of the global recession.

Of those polled, 39 percent said Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff would make the best prime minister, compared with just 15 percent for Harper.

A CROP analyst told La Presse that Liberal support was settling back after the April poll, which was conducted just after Ignatieff held several high-profile events in Quebec.

Some Quebecers vote for the Bloc because they want independence for the province of 7.5 million people. Others want Quebec to stay part of Canada but support the Bloc on the grounds it will stand up for the province's interests in Parliament.

Any Quebec referendum on separating from Canada would have to be presented by the Parti Quebecois, the provincial wing of the separatist movement. The PQ lost last December's Quebec election to the provincial Liberal Party.

The CROP survey of 1,001 adults was carried out from May 14 to 24 and is considered accurate to within 3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Rob Wilson)