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Jack Layton never gave up on Quebec and Thomas Mulcair says he won’t either.

And if the New Democratic Party does its job right, it’s only a matter of time before the bloom comes off the Trudeau rose, as Canadians demand less flair and more substance from a party that promised them the world in the last election, Mulcair says.

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“Yes, we need to show plenty of patience and get ourselves a good walking stick, but we are ready,” Mulcair said Thursday, wrapping up a two-day party caucus in Montreal.

“It’s the kind of work the NDP has always done. As Jack (Layton) said in his farewell letter, there are some who will try and convince you to give up.

“Well I will never give up. I will continue. I will always be there because I believe the NDP is the only group in society capable of delivering the progressive change Canadians want and which other parties often promise but never deliver.”

The comments, as candid as Mulcair gets these days when asked about the fallout from the 2015 election debacle, poured out as he answered a question on his party’s fortunes in Quebec — and beyond — at a news conference.