Thomas Mulcair is flexing his political muscles ahead of a formal entry in the race to lead the NDP, taking a great deal of credit for the party's historical surge in Quebec four months ago while stating that Jack Layton's influence helped him tone down his abrasive style.
Speaking at length for the first time since Mr. Layton's funerals a week ago, Mr. Mulcair emphasized his high-level experience in provincial government and touted a vast network of still-undeclared support in the party. However, he did threaten to abandon the leadership race if the party did not extend the campaign into the spring.
"If and when the time comes, I will have a lot of my caucus colleagues on the stage with me," the NDP House Leader and MP said of an eventual leadership bid.
In particular, the former Quebec environment minister said he offers the best chance of re-election to the NDP's 59 MPs in his home province, which are essential to eventually forming a government.
"I've got great, great support among the Quebec caucus. I'm thankful for that, but not totally surprised because they know what role I played in helping them all get elected," Mr. Mulcair said. "They want to make sure they come back so that we can form a government, because that's our No. 1 purpose."
Mr. Mulcair said his success in Quebec was part of a close collaboration with Mr. Layton, whose long-time partner, Olivia Chow, is also an NDP MP and could be a power broker in the leadership race.
"Jack named me parliamentary House Leader [last May] and it was quite a compliment for the work that we had done," Mr. Mulcair said. "Don't forget that when I signed on with Jack, the communality of purpose was sealed at a supper in his old hometown in Hudson with his wife, Olivia, and my wife, Catherine."
There are currently no official candidates in the race, although a number of NDP MPs are mulling their options. In addition, NDP president Brian Topp, who is well known in the union movement and for his work in provincial NDP governments, is also exploring a candidacy.
Mr. Mulcair insisted the party should not opt for a four-month race, because there would be insufficient time to sell memberships in Quebec. Despite the NDP's record success in the province in the last federal election, only 3 per cent of eligible voters for the party leadership reside there.
"I've never shied away from a fight. I don't even shy away from a fight if somebody wants to tie one arm behind my back," Mr. Mulcair said. But I'm not going to go into that same fight if I'm completely hobbled."
He sharply criticized backroom lobbying by unnamed party officials in favour of a convention next January, saying it wouldn't leave enough time for candidates to build support in Quebec and become better known across Canada.
Instead, Mr. Mulcair is calling for a seven- to eight-month campaign, which would mean a vote in April or May, when the NDP federal council sets the convention rules on Friday.
"The important thing is that Quebeckers opted in to Canada for the first time in a generation, and the vehicle for that opt-in is the progressive vision of the NDP," Mr. Mulcair said. "The last thing we can afford to do is to send a signal that now that has been done, the [leadership selection] process ... won't respect that result."
Mr. Mulcair did not dispute the fact he rubbed some people the wrong way in his four years in Ottawa, but he said he was given a clear mandate to make inroads in Quebec. After quitting the Charest government, Mr. Mulcair won a seat in the Montreal riding of Outremont in a 2007 by-election. The following year, he became the first NDP candidate to win a seat in Quebec in a general election.
"The fact of the matter is that if I hadn't pushed hard and gotten things changed, we would still have never elected anybody in a general election in Quebec," he said. "That type of drive and determination has gotten us where we are, and it's the type of drive and determination that I will take to the job [of NDP leader]"
He added he learned much about bridge building and consensus politics from Mr. Layton, all the while keeping an edge to fight back against his political opponents, especially the Conservatives.
"Five years of working with Jack made me realize there were other ways of going about problem solving. I learned a lot from him, and I had a lot to learn," Mr. Mulcair said.
Born in Ottawa and raised north of Montreal, Mr. Mulcair, 56, has two adult sons. His wife of 35 years is a psychologist in Montreal.