Thomas Mulcair says he’d like the NDP to have lots of money and points to Quebec as an example of the way forward for the NDP.
“First, we had not only party organizers, but also media, communications and policy advisors on the ground in Quebec―not just in Ottawa. That allowed us to better understand the day-to-day concerns of the public, but it also allowed us to speak out on local and regional issues that involved the federal government even if they weren’t the stories people were paying attention to in Ottawa.”
“We also made sure that, no matter how few resources we had, no riding was allowed to go completely uncontested. Even in cases where we didn’t have a candidate until after the election was called, we had basic campaign materials ready to go.”
The precise nature of, and causes for, the NDP’s success in Quebec during the last election are probably still being sorted out and no doubt remain worthy of debate. Shortly before the vote, Andre Pratte gave credit to Mr. Mulcair’s influence on party policy, but suggested Quebecers were voting for “Jack.” More from Andre here.
For whatever it’s worth to the larger discussion, it is my understanding that the party went into the 2011 campaign focused on three ridings. If the party’s poll numbers in the province improved, they thought they might have a shot at six. Five weeks later, of course, they’d won 59.