Canada's Bloc Québécois has thrown its weight behind Taiwan's push for a seat at international tables, a small but welcome diplomatic win for Taipei and a fresh irritant for Beijing.

• Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet met President Lai Ching-te in Taipei and called Taiwan's membership in global bodies necessary and legitimate.
• He singled out the World Health Organization, the Trans-Pacific trade pact, and the aviation body ICAO, pointing to China's military flights around Taiwan as the reason Taipei needs a voice there.
• The party wants Canada to finally sign a trade deal with Taiwan that was agreed last year but left unsigned, and will press Prime Minister Mark Carney to do it.
• Blanchet backed reopening a Quebec office in Taipei, while saying Quebec's fight with Ottawa is not the same as Taiwan's standoff with China.
• Lai pitched joint work on AI, chips, aerospace, critical minerals, and clean energy as the next step.

Outlook: Expect more pressure on Ottawa to sign the trade arrangement, and the usual protest from Beijing over another foreign delegation in Taipei.