How about a coalition non-Harper government?

[Bragi]

"The brass ring will go either to Harper or to the leader who can unite the majority of Canadians against him. The most leaderly thing Jack Layton can do at this point is to say, "In the event of another minority, we will seek, with any other interested parties, to form a coalition government to prevent Harper from ruining Canada and its international reputation. We hope it is an NDP-led coalition, but whoever leads it, we will insist upon a short list of conditions and expectations," and begin to muse about these conditions.

This bold act would change the whole campaign, making coalition politics the main subject of discussion for its remainder. Sure, it poses risks for the NDP, which has so often been the victim of "strategic voting," which often amounts to Liberal voting. With a forthright and proud NDP taking the initiative, rather than dealing with it defensively, and with Dion's weaknesses, the strategic voting impulse would diminish.

Canadians would see the declaration as a bold and hopeful act for Jack Layton to subsume his own party's natural desire for supremacy before the greater good of getting rid of Harper. In the end, he will be rewarded if he takes this path. "

http://www.straightgoods.ca/ViewFeature8.cfm?REF=471

[daleo]

1. I can't see the current NDP leadership going for it

First off, like any party, they want to win. Events like the Rae election of 1991 make this vaguely possible, so that inspires hope.

Failing that, I think the core of the party (the leadership anyway) would prefer that the population suffer through a Harper majority term or two, so that they are thoroughly repulsed, as they eventually were with Mulroney. The NDP might then be seen as a fresh alternative. This is a long term strategy, but some people take the long view.

I suspect that they fear an official or unofficial coalition with the Liberals could result in a withering away of the whole NDP idea - if they really are just "Liberals in a hurry", then what's the point?