LAVAL, Que. -- Gilles Duceppe says Quebec remains distinct from the rest of Canada, still votes differently from elsewhere in the country and still needs the Bloc Quebecois to help take it out of Canada.

He is making his first public appearance since the Bloc suffered a historic meltdown on election night, winning just four seats and prompting him to resign as party leader.

Duceppe said at a party meeting near Montreal today that Quebec voters were simply tired of the Harper Conservatives and also grew tired of voting Bloc after six straight elections.

But he says the election results proved that Quebec voted one way — against the Tories — while the rest of Canada voted massively for them. And he says there's no reason to call into question the Bloc's existence because he contends that few parties have ever been as dominant over a long period as it has.

Also before the Bloc existed, in the Trudeau years for instance, he says too many Quebecers felt they had nobody in Ottawa to represent their opinions.

Duceppe says he will always continue working in support of the Bloc — but will not seek a formal role again. He says he's heartened to hear from Quebecers that they don't accuse him of doing a bad job and, he suspects, they simply voted for another party that represented change.

He is taking a jab at the NDP — saying it was hard to fight against the so-called agent of change, when some of its candidates never showed up to campaign or didn't speak French.

Looking dejected, he told a news conference the loss represented a blow to his morale.

Next, Duceppe plans to go to Ottawa to clear out his office and then think about his future plans.

Meanwhile, the Bloc is torn about its own future plans. The party is divided over how quickly it should replace Duceppe, with its sudden and unexpected collapse opening up internal tensions.

Michel Guimond, a former MP and a prominent figure in the party, blasted another ex-MP who has swiftly announced plans to become the party's next leader.

Guimond says Pierre Paquette is making a mistake by thrusting the party into leadership speculation so soon after its crushing defeat.

"We could at least have the decency to let the body cool," Guimond said at the party meeting in a hotel in Laval, just north of Montreal. "People are telling me that it displays a lack of respect for Mr. Duceppe."

The Bloc lost 43 seats in the election.

Duceppe was greeted with a standing ovation and shouts of, "Bravo!" as he met with the caucus and the defeated candidates.

The party's near-total annihilation on May 2 has opened up long-term existential questions — such as whether the Bloc will manage or even bother to rebuild, without official party status in the Commons. Paquette, an affable longtime MP, had already hinted he might run and he officially announced those plans today.

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