Jack Layton and the NDP had a huge surge in the polls in Quebec last week. The party currently holds just one seat out of 75 in Quebec. Some polls gave the NDP a statistical tie in Quebec with the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois, which holds 47 seats, and only runs in the province of Quebec.
The NDP followed up their new-found popularity with a rally on Saturday in the Olympia Theatre in Montreal, which just happens to be in Bloc Québécois leader Gille Duceppe's riding of Laurier - Sainte-Marie. It was a huge rally for the NDP, with about 1300 attending. "My friends, something's going on in Quebec. There's the winds of change that you can feel along the St. Lawrence River," Layton told the diverse crowd of all ages.
There's certainly something going on heading into the last week of the federal election campaign. The big questions are whether the NDP momentum will last, whether it will turn into seats, and for which parties. Outside Quebec, especially in Ontario and British Columbia, the NDP surge could take votes away from the Liberals, and lead to an elusive Conservative majority.
It's good news for Jack Layton though. For the ever-optimistic guy who has spent the last year fighting prostate cancer and is campaigning using a cane after hip surgery just three weeks before the election was called, it's a well-deserved boost.
Photo: NDP Leader Jack Layton
Don MacKinnon / Getty Images
New Democratic Party of Canada
NDP Election Platform
Polling and the NDP Surge - Ira Basen - CBC News Reality Check
Tories, Liberals Take Aim at the NDP - Craig Oliver - CTV News
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