What they’re saying: “The NDP has set down roots in Quebec”

Four years after the NDP’s historic breakthrough in Quebec, Tom Mulcair’s New Democrat team has earned the trust of Quebecers.

Here’s what Joël-Denis Bellavance wrote in La Presse this week:

“Six months before the writ drops for the next federal election, the reality, according to the last CROP poll commissioned by La Presse, is that the NDP has set down roots in Quebec and won’t cede its place easily to Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, Mario Beaulieu’s Bloc Québécois or Stephen Harper’s Conservatives. In fact the NDP has become, four years after the famous orange wave, a flash in the pan that refuses to die out …

It’s among francophone voters that the NDP’s support is strongest. In fact, Tom Mulcair’s troops are the top choice for 33% of francophone voters. Let’s remember, it is the latter who will determine the winner in the majority of the 78 ridings in Quebec represented in the House of Commons in the next election … Clearly, Justin Trudeau’s star has faded in Quebec.”

Another veteran Quebec political watcher, Chantal Hébert **, takes a similar view in the Toronto Star:**

“Is recent Liberal election history in Quebec about to repeat itself? The question is on the minds of local federal insiders as they watch party fortunes flag in Justin Trudeau’s home province. The latest CROP poll — published by La Presse on the weekend — puts the Liberals squarely behind the New Democrats across francophone Quebec … The NDP has a 10-point lead … the federal Liberals could be shut out of francophone Quebec for a third consecutive election and — by the same token — fall short of the count they need to vault back to power … [Trudeau’s] pre-election campaign in Quebec is even more generic than that of his predecessor. That includes a just-produced string of Liberal radio ads so devoid of local flavour that if they were bagels, no Montreal shop worthy of its name would admit to having baked them.”

After a decade of Conservative government, Quebecers are ready for change. They know that only Tom Mulcair has the experience to replace Stephen Harper – and the plan to repair the damage he’s done.

Sign on and say you’re ready to elect Canada’s first NDP government: www.ndp.ca/ready