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“It’s a reflection of who I am, too. I’ve had to fight for everything in my life. Nobody’s given me anything.

“In 2011, after five years across Quebec with Jack Layton – non-stop work – people were laughing at us. The pundits, the critics, the commentators, especially, you know, in the national media.

“We were boasting that we were about to break through in Quebec because we knew we were. And we were being told: ‘You’ll never break through in Quebec.’ We won 59 seats.”

In this campaign, Mulcair has had to contend with an unexpected issue. There is strong public support in Quebec for the Conservatives’ stance that Muslim women should not be allowed to wear a niqab at their citizenship ceremony.

The Bloc Québécois is onside with the Tories – leaving the NDP and Liberals on the other side.

Mulcair accused Harper of using the issue “as a weapon of mass distraction.” Asked how he personally feels about the niqab, he chose his words carefully.

“I understand fully that it causes people to feel uncomfortable. But what I am saying is that once the courts have ruled, it’s no longer a question of what people like or don’t like. You have to follow what the courts say.

“Frankly, other people’s religious practices are their own religious practices.”

Mulcair was categorical about what he would do in the next Parliament if the Conservatives are re-elected.

“If Stephen Harper is elected with a minority, I will do everything to defeat him at the first opportunity. I will never, under any circumstance, support anything that that man does. Because I know how much harm he has caused to Canada and to Canadians.”