Mulcair says NDP would freeze EI premiums, improve youth benefits

“Does Tom Mulcair accept that Quebec is divisible?”

Yet some observers suspect a meaningful slice of those Quebecers now telling pollsters that they intend to vote NDP might be open to persuasion.

“That’s the goal”, said party spokesman Karl Belanger.

Mulcair made the announcements as his election campaign continues to tour Atlantic Canada.

“There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell”, he said.

The strategist argued that the Liberal economic platform should be attractive to Quebec voters, especially its emphasis on deficit-financed infrastructure spending in a province where crumbling bridges and pothole-pocked highways symbolize chronic underinvestment in public works. The Liberals leaked an internal NDP briefing note that calls into question whether or not these numbers include current child-care spaces, though capping the costs of all child-care spaces in Canada, outside of Quebec (new and existing) at $15 would still provide significant and critical financial support for families.

“The NDP has an very bad lot of seats in Quebec”.

However, the NDP say they would not force a woman to reveal her face during the symbolic portion of the citizenship ceremony. Harper’s Conservatives proposed the ban, which the NDP and Liberals oppose.

The federal government is fighting a court ruling that threw out the requirement for uncovered faces. It ultimately failed as Martin’s minority rule fell apart.

Another issue that might draw attention away from the core economic platforms is the bitter split between the NDP and Liberals over the Clarity Act.

“My number is anything that represents a clear majority that the federal government decides is adequate”. Trudeau staunchly supports the law, but the NDP’s policy is that a bare majority of 50 per cent plus one would be enough for Quebec to go its own way.

Party officials indicate he will focus on numerous same themes he has raised in the English debates held so far – stressing his ability to manage the economy while trying to paint his opponents as reckless spenders who will drive up taxes.

But he also caught criticism from a local Liberal candidate for a line he used in 1996 during a debate with a Parti Quebecois opponent over Quebec separation.

Keith Henderson, chair of the Special Committee for Canadian Unity, told CTV’s Power Play on Tuesday that Mulcair has a lot of explaining to do when it comes to his position Quebec’s secession.