The Liberal Party wants Quebec to get two or three extra seats if the House of Commons passes legislation to increase representation in three other provinces.
The Liberal plan could trigger a clash with the Conservative Party, which is proposing to add 30 new House seats in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, but none in Quebec.
The Liberals' Quebec caucus is pushing to increase seats in their province, and are gaining traction within the party. Their goal is to ensure that Quebec's share of the seats in the House reflects the fact that the province has 23.1 per cent of the Canadian population. Quebec would be left with 75 seats under the Conservative plan.
"The file is a clear priority for the Quebec caucus," said Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez, who has been making representations to the national caucus and the Office of Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.
Earlier this year, the Liberals voted against a Bloc Québécois motion that would have locked in Quebec's representation at its current level of 24.4 per cent of the seats, by adding another 10 seats in the province. To the Bloc, maintaining its overall percentage of House seats compared to the rest of Canada is crucial.
A senior Liberal official confirmed the party will conduct a close study of the bill when it goes to committee, and find the best possible formula to ensure that all provinces, including Quebec, get adequate representation in the House.
"The principle for us is that it can't be below the province's share of the population," the official said of the party's position on Quebec.
He added the party is in favour of adding seats in other provinces, too.
"There is the Quebec element that is obviously important for the Leader and the party, but we also recognize that there are other provinces that are under-represented," the official said.
As it stands, there are 308 seats in the House.
The Conservative government's Bill C-12 would make major changes to the legislative chamber, adding new seats in Ontario (18), British-Columbia (7) and Alberta (5).
Matthew Mendelsohn, director of the Mowat Centre think-tank, said that there is a rationale for increasing the representation of Quebec, as long as the provinces that are currently under-represented get their additional seats.
"The goal is to pass legislation that is broadly acceptable in Ontario, B.C. and Alberta," Mr. Mendelsohn said.
"If you find legislation that does some small fix for Quebec, which makes it more acceptable in Quebec and more likely to pass the legislation, then that is something you should be willing to look at," he said.
But the Conservative government has shown no signs of budging on the bill, and is expected to defend its proposed distribution of new seats.
Ontario will be an important battleground in the next election, and Conservative officials are insisting that the province would remain under-represented in comparison to Quebec, even with the influx of 18 new seats. In that context, the Conservative Party can be expected to oppose the Liberal proposal, which would dilute Ontario's representation in Ottawa.
The Bloc Québécois has been waging the most vigorous fight against Bill C-12, saying the Parliament's recognition of the Québécois as a nation entails the province's stable presence in Ottawa. In addition, the Bloc points out that there will never be proportional representation in the House, given that Prince Edward Island benefits from the constitutional promise of four seats.
The new law would only come into effect in 2014, and would not be expected to apply in the next election.