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NDP and Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair talks to reporters after attending his caucus meeting in on Parliament in Ottawa, Wednesday February 26, 2014.FRED CHARTRAND/The Canadian Press

The NDP is stating its first order of business in the next election will be to oust Stephen Harper as prime minister, offering to work with the other opposition parties to make it happen in the event of a minority Parliament.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair was against a merger with the Liberal Party during his 2012 leadership race, but he is now offering conciliatory words about future co-operation. To make his point, this week he repeatedly mentioned his role in the failed Liberal-NDP coalition agreement that had the backing of the Bloc Québécois in 2008.

Mr. Mulcair is aiming to cement the NDP's status as the prime home for Canada's "progressive" voters, a few days after the Liberals made a clear appeal to right-wing voters at a four-day convention last week.

"We're going to continue to make it our priority to get rid of Stephen Harper's Conservatives," Mr. Mulcair said after a caucus meeting. "And yes, working together is always part of our history."

Mr. Mulcair refused to state categorically whether he would be in favour of a formal coalition after the 2015 election, simply stating the NDP will not agree to pre-election deals with other parties.

"We're going to be running 338 candidates, but Canadians decide the type of Parliament that they're going to give themselves," Mr. Mulcair said. "We're going to form a government and we will work together for a progressive vision for Canada."

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau rejected the entreaties on Wednesday, pointing to crucial policy differences with the NDP on matters of national unity and economic matters.

"I was very clear during my own leadership that I was not going to entertain any discussions around coalition and I received a very strong mandate from Liberals to hold to that and I will hold to that," he said after a caucus meeting.

Mr. Trudeau added he has promised to hold fewer whipped votes if the Liberals form the next government, and would be open to working with other parties to pass legislation as the leader of a Liberal government.

The NDP's pitch stands to prove popular with voters who have long called for greater co-operation among opposition parties as a way to bring down the Conservative government, which came to power in 2006. The message could have a particular resonance in Quebec, where the NDP has a majority of seats but will face a revived Liberal Party in the next election.

The Liberals held a four-day convention last week that contained a clear attempt to woo small-c conservative voters who may have become disaffected with the Harper government. Both Mr. Trudeau and one of his star candidates, retired lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie, spoke directly to the "Conservative base" in the hopes of shaking up the Prime Minister's support.

"People in Ottawa talk about the 'Conservative base' as if it's an angry mob to be feared. They're wrong," Mr. Trudeau told delegates. "Canadians who voted Conservative aren't your enemies, they're your neighbours."

Mr. Mulcair broached the subject of increased co-operation on Tuesday during a question-and-answer session with the Ireland Chamber of Commerce, at the Irish ambassador's residence in Ottawa. He expanded on this thoughts in his regular news conference after his caucus meeting on Wednesday.

The Conservative Party successfully beat back the 2008 coalition attempt by repeatedly pointing to the fact that its fate depended on the support of the separatist Bloc Québécois. While the coalition would have seen then-Liberal leader Stéphane Dion become prime minister, the Conservatives argued in the subsequent election that his successor, Michael Ignatieff, stood to enter into a similar arrangement.

"Michael Ignatieff and his reckless coalition. He did it before, he'll do it again," the Conservatives said in a television ad in 2011, the year Mr. Harper's Conservatives won their first majority mandate.

Daniel Leblanc is a parliamentary reporter in Ottawa.

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