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But plans were back on as of last week, when the former Quebec lieutenant for the party, Pierre Ducasse, submitted membership lists to Quebec’s election body, the Directeur général des élections du Québec. (DGEQ)

“We are taking the next administrative steps to meet the requirements of the DGEQ and continue to keep the option open to create a provincial party for our supports in Quebec,” Mr. Ducasse told the Postvia email.

A spokesperson for the DGEQ confirmed that an application to register the party was received on Oct. 29, and once they can confirm that the NDP has 100 valid voters on its membership rolls, they will be officially recognized as a party.

Official party status means the party can field candidates and fundraise.

While not everyone in the party has been informed that the process is moving forward, Mr. Mulcair confirmed that the request came from up top.

“It’s us. It’s our application,” he told thePost.

When plans for the party were originally shelved, in September, 2012, Mr. Mulcair said he didn’t want to draw resources away from the 2015 election.

Mr. Mulcair still maintains that, with a federal election quickly approaching and a minority government teetering on a precarious perch in Quebec, things are in a holding pattern.

“I’m not going to open a second front. My one priority is to get rid of the person who sits in front of me, Stephen Harper,” Mr. Mulcair says.