Talk about a fish out of water - that's what Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe was on Friday.
Supporters of the longtime separatist can only cast ballots for him in Quebec and as a result, unless he's taking his seat in the House of Commons, you almost never see him outside of his home province - especially during an election campaign.
Which is what was so strange about seeing the BQ chief in Toronto on Friday. Duceppe came to the city to urge voters here not to let Stephen Harper get his majority. But there's more than just political differences at play.
If Harper retains his minority status, Duceppe may well become the opposition leader, a role he'd relish.
Speaking in English to about 200 members of the Economic Club of Toronto, Duceppe made it clear that a vote for the Conservatives at a time of such economic fragility in North America is a vote for financial chaos.
"We strongly disagree with the Conservative way of managing the economy from an ideological point of view," he told his audience. "It is very dangerous when a prime minister makes his decisions through an ideological prism instead of a pragmatic one."
He compared Harper to U.S. President George W. Bush, a frequent allusion drawn between the two leaders during the campaign. And he pointed to job losses in both Quebec and Ontario as proof that something is going wrong.
But while he's running for Canada's Parliament, Duceppe couldn't let it go without making at least one reference to the fact he'd rather not be there at all. "I'm more convinced than ever that sovereignty is the best possible outcome for Quebec and also for Canada," he concludes. "This way we'll go forward as two nations, two countries respectful of each other."
But it's clear if that moment comes, he doesn't want to see Harper leading the second of those "two countries."