As the Mulcair turns

Having previously said he wouldn’t be able to seek the party’s leadership unless the vote was scheduled for the spring, Thomas Mulcair now says the NDP’s low membership numbers in Quebec may prevent him from mounting an effective campaign and that the party should fund a membership drive to correct the problem.

"We are disadvantaged, it’s not a complaint, it is a simple observation," the NDP leadership hopeful said.

"The party should look at the possibility of having a membership drive in Quebec in a non-partisan way and not sectoral way. This wouldn’t be about one candidate over another but it would compensate the mathematical fact that Quebec is the only province that does not have provincial wing of the NDP. And perhaps it would be a question of putting some resources aside so that the party could seek out memberships," Mulcair said.