Overheard this week: “NDP surge on display”

This week, Tom Mulcair continued to propose practical ideas and show positive momentum across the country.

Pollster Frank Graves even said “the NDP is now the only true ‘pan-Canadian’ party […] The Conservatives have not been a serious contender in Quebec for some time and the Liberals do quite poorly in Alberta and Saskatchewan.”

Will Southwestern Ontario be ground zero for Canada’s next Orange Wave?

“NDP surge on display at local nomination meeting […] The leader of Canada’s official opposition was in Waterloo last Thursday night and made it clear he intends to challenge for the top job of prime minister this fall. Federal NDP leader Tom Mulcair told a crowd of hundreds of supporters he needs some local help to get there, though, as he welcomed NDP candidate Diane Freeman to the election race.” — James Jackson, Waterloo Chronicle (June 3, 2015)

Meanwhile, in Quebec, the Globe and Mail’s Jeffrey Simpson noted that the Liberals are “swimming against NDP tide”:

“With the Bloc moribund, and the NDP looking more credible across the country, Quebeckers seem to have decided that the orange wave should become an orange high tide … If Quebeckers want to rid their province and Canada of the Conservatives, the NDP is the best-bet alternative for the largest number of francophone voters.” — Jeffrey Simpson, Globe and Mail (June 4, 2015)

This momentum even had Warren Kinsella, a former advisor to Jean Chretien, talking about Tom this week:

“Mulcair was angry about everything at precisely the moment voters were, too. He aligned with the popular mood […] ‘Mulcair is “serious and progressive.’” — Warren Kinsella, Blog post (June 3, 2015)