MONTREAL – Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois can thank Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Quebec-bashing for helping to push sovereignty to the fore in the provincial election campaign.

Former PQ premier Bernard Landry says Harper's attacks on the ``separatist coalition" which includes the Bloc Quebecois, could have an impact on Monday's vote.

"It's possible that people who may or may not be sympathizers of the Bloc will be drawn to the Parti Quebecois," Landry said Thursday.

But it remains to be seen whether Premier Jean Charest's chances of a majority government will really be affected.

Harper toned down his rhetoric slightly on Thursday after meeting with Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean and getting her approval to prorogue Parliament. The prime minister acknowledged the Bloc has a legitimate place in the Commons as an elected party.

Political scientist Harold Chorney says the prime minister is playing a dangerous game and his anti-Bloc rhetoric will reinvigorate the Parti Quebecois.

He agrees with Landry there will be some spillover from Ottawa after some Conservatives suggested it was treason to build a coalition with separatists.

"There will be some voters who are sort of tentative Bloquistes, who don't vote for them all the time, who might go over to the Parti Quebecois because they are deeply offended," he said.

But Chorney added he does not expect Harper's controversial remarks to change opinion polls which suggest Charest's Liberals were headed for a majority government.

"They've been confident about a majority, but you never know in Quebec," he said.

"I assume Mr. Charest is going to win, I assume he is going to win effectively and we'll see what kind of majority he gets.

"I don't think that this time it's in the cards for Madame Marois to become premier of Quebec."

Marois says the comments Harper directed at the "separatists" of the Bloc Quebecois could mobilize sovereigntists.

"If this crisis has had the effect of waking up soverigntists who had dozed off a bit, I say all the better," she told reporters Thursday in Montreal.

She said the prime minister is the architect of his own misfortune and is responsible for the current turmoil.

Marois said she's noticed that people are profoundly unhappy with the treatment given to the Bloc, which has been defending the interests of Quebecers.

The PQ leader said she is not getting any special thrill from the crisis in Ottawa even it can help the PQ cause.

"No, I'm not happy because now with the mess in Ottawa, there are decisions that will not be taken which could help Quebec economically," she said.

The PQ leader also ended up having to talk about whether she would be in favour of a PQ-Action democratique du Quebec coalition if the Liberals formed a minority government on Monday.

Marois said her comments in a newspaper interview this week were not meant as an endorsement of such a coalition. She said Thursday she is opposed to such a formal deal but would be open to agreements on specific issues such as pushing for Quebec to get more powers in areas such as culture and communications. She insisted the alliance would not be directed at unseating a Charest government.

But that didn't stop Charest from accusing Marois of wanting to replicate the type of political instability currently paralyzing Ottawa.

"By wanting to import into Quebec a crisis like the one we're seeing in Ottawa, the PQ leader is giving Quebecers a good reason to give themselves a government of stability," he added.

Universite de Montreal political scientist Denis Moniere accused Harper of adding fuel to the fire and he predicted slight gains for Marois and the PQ on Monday.

"It could rally to her those who, for example, doubted the PQ's commitment towards sovereignty," he said.

But Moniere warned things could get complicated for Marois if she decides to make sovereignty her battle cry in the final days of the campaign.

"It wasn't one of the planks of her electoral platform and it wasn't in her communications plan at the beginning of the campaign," he said.

Moniere said ADQ Leader Mario Dumont would be hurt the most by Harper's coalition attacks.

"I think the big loser in all of this is Mr. Dumont, who associated himself with the Conservatives, (but) the Conservatives could care less about Quebec," he said.

Campaigning at a bowling alley in Quebec City, Dumont said things got out of control in Ottawa and the events of the past week will leave behind a bad aftertaste.

"For people who have looked at sovereignty as an option, the surprise of the week was to see the Bloc Quebecois and the Parti Quebecois, Pauline Marois and Gilles Duceppe, hand-in-hand with Stephane Dion," he added.

"We'll see what effect that will have on people who thought about voting for Marois."

Dumont invited Quebecers to vote for the ADQ, "an autonomist party which wants to assert Quebec without separating."