Mulcair wants NDP election ready by fall 2014, predicts early election

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – NDP Leader Tom Mulcair wants his party to be “completely ready” by the fall of 2014 for a federal election that he predicts will come sooner than expected.

Under the fixed election law introduced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2006,the next vote should take place on Oct. 19, 2015.

The law was supposed to ensure a fixed four-year interval between elections, but it hasn’t once worked out that way as yet — and Mulcair isn’t convinced it will next time, either.

He says Harper has already hinted the law will be amended to ensure the next federal campaign doesn’t overlap with as many as seven different provincial elections scheduled for about the same time.

Mulcair predicts the next election will likely be in the spring of 2015 and he wants his caucus fully prepared at least six months prior to that.

Among other things, he says that means putting in place the mechanics of a campaign team, fleshing out the NDP’s policy platform and proving to Canadians that the party can be trusted to manage the economy.