Alexa McDonough S Atlantic Presence: Brian Topp

Quebec Dept: The NDP is like Lego. It grows by adding new pieces. The first, Ontario unions, was added to a socialist Western base in 1961; next was Alexa McDonough s Atlantic presence in 1997; and then Quebec last May, according to The Star. Three candidates absorb what this means: Thomas Mulcair, Layton s Quebec lieutenant; Brian Topp, the main strategist for much of Layton s tenure; and Nathan Cullen, who became an MP with Layton in 2004 and buried in the NDP leadership race is one question: Did the 2011 election count? That may seem odd. Everyone, after all, talks about the breakthrough often. But there are two candidate camps. One that appreciates the change it brings, and one that does not. I recently watched the party s ads that ran in Quebec. They featured dogs barking at each other, lamenting that old separatist-vs.-Liberal fights didn t get much done. Jack Layton appealed to work together in a progressive federation, and Quebecers said yes. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.