JONQUIERE, Que. — The Bloc Quebecois is pointing to Stephen Harper's western connections as a reason Quebecers should shun the Conservatives, saying they shouldn't let "Calgary'' decide their future.

The Bloc has published an ad in eastern Quebec featuring a stetson above the words "We won't let Calgary decide for Quebec.''

Harper, who represents the riding of Calgary Southwest, is hoping the Tories win several of Quebec's 75 seats on Monday at the expense of the Liberals and the Bloc.

Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe said Saturday he doesn't see anything wrong with the ad, saying it merely symbolizes the fact Conservatives "are defending interests that are not ours.''

Duceppe, speaking later in the sovereigntist heartland of Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, brought up the Yes side as he made a frantic pitch for votes.

"We will never accept the No side of the Liberals and the Tories,'' he said.

"We're in the Yes camp -- yes to Quebec's interests, yes to solidarity, yes to education, yes to the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, yes to Quebec's regions and yes to the freedom to being different.

"Quebec will never accept having Calgary or Toronto dictate our priorities to us.''

Duceppe blasted the Conservatives for their position on the Kyoto protocol and accused local Tory candidate Jean-Pierre Blackburn of favouring Calgary-based oil companies over Quebec aluminum smelters.

Local surveys have suggested Blackburn and Bloc candidate Sebastien Gagnon are locked in a tight battle.

Earlier, a Bloc candidate also raised Harper's western Canadian roots.

"I have enormous difficulty believing that people in my riding, for whatever reason, would want to place their destiny in the hands of people from Alberta,'' said Real Lapierre, who is running in the Quebec City-area riding of Levis-Bellechasse.

"People should be warned -- there are elements of the Reform party and the Canadian Alliance in the Conservative party and the day is not far off when all these people will come out of the woodwork.''