NDP will run in future Quebec elections

The Canadian Press:

Montreal - Tom Mulcair says Quebecers will get a chance to vote New Democratic in the province’s next election as the federal party looks to capitalize on last year’s electoral breakthrough.

The NDP leader said the party was too busy to create a Quebec version in time for the current election campaign, which will send Quebecers to the polls on Sept. 4.

But Mulcair indicated Friday the NDP is planning to build a provincial cousin before the next election.

The creation, he believes, would add a missing component to the province’s political playing field: a left-leaning, federalist voice.

The province’s two major federalist parties — the Liberals and the Coalition for Quebec’s Future — are both considered right-of-centre.

“We think there’s a place for us on Quebec’s chessboard,” Mulcair said following a speech in Montreal.

“There will be a provincial NDP, but for the next election.”

The former Quebec cabinet minister said the NDP currently runs candidates in all provinces and territories. Soon, the party hopes to have hopefuls in each of Quebec’s 125 ridings.

The NDP’s national president, Chantal Vallerand, reserved the name “Nouveau parti democratique du Quebec” in June with the province’s electoral authority. The party has not yet registered a provincial NDP.

The federal New Democrats made historic strides in Quebec in the 2011 federal election. They now hold 58 of the province’s 75 seats after nearly sweeping the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois off the map.

Mulcair said the party’s growing presence in Quebec, which brings improved structural and financial support, encouraged the NDP to enter the provincial political ring.

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