On open races

Last week, Paul Wells rightly pointed out that the main purpose of the Cons' (however laughable) Senate appointment and campaign launch for Larry Smith figures to have been to make inroads into one of the last remaining pieces of relatively unchallenged Lib territory in the country. But in the other note from Lawrence Martin's column on Thomas Mulcair that deserves attention, it won't be the Cons alone looking to test the opportunities available in Montreal:

In Quebec, where the NDP’s media presence has grown exponentially since Mr. Mulcair donned the party’s garments in 2007, the New Democrats placed second in several recent polls, behind the Bloc Québécois. Gains are particularly noticeable among francophone voters. Although Mr. Mulcair is an anglophone, he speaks predominantly French and is even more forceful in his second tongue than his first.

The party has expectations of winning the riding of Gatineau, where their candidate, Françoise Boivin, a former Liberal MP, lost narrowly last time out. The Dippers have a good shot in Hull and in a few Liberal-held ridings in Montreal, where they’ve lined up some high-profile candidates they’ll be announcing when the right moment arises.

Now, it's worth noting that the choice to wait for "the right moment" looks to make for a departure from the usual strategy of getting the earliest start possible in trying to challenge a stronghold seat. But it'll nonetheless be worth watching who ends up on the NDP's side in trying to convert the party's growing Quebec popularity into seats.