This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship

Pat Martin says, if no one else takes up the cause, he’ll enter the NDP leadership race as a pro-merger candidate.

“I haven’t spoken to any potential candidates about this. But the one that says it openly that they will explore and promote some form of co-operation with the Liberals will have my enthusiastic support and in the absence of any such candidate I’ll do it myself,” Martin told iPolitics.

The way forward seems clear: a new party jointly led by Pat Martin and Denis Coderre.