The NDP has strength in Quebec that it didn't have. Part of the reason is Layton, and part of the reason is Muclair.

Why don't they set up Mulclair as the Quebec Leader of the NDP, and run the NDP as a Nationalist-Federalist alternative kind of like the Quebec Liberals? Layton would remain the Federal Leader, but operations in Quebec would be more or less decentralized to a Quebec NDP organization.

Perhaps they are already to a good extent, but I guess what I am saying is that they should be seen to be so.

There are a good number of Bloc seats which could be ripe for the picking. Both the Liberals and the Tories know this, however ideologically the NDP seem to be the best party to compete head-to-head with the Bloc.

If the NDP were serious about Quebec and were willing to recognize Quebec as a nation within a Canadian federation, and they set up a Quebec organization, they have the potential to be a permanent and endearing part of the Quebec political landscape, even more so than they are now.

I think the provincial victory in Nova Scotia could bode well for this.