MONTREAL — NDP Leader Jack Layton's dream of building a truly pan-Canadian party faces hurdles in many parts of the country, but the biggest might be in Quebec.

Over the years, the Liberals, the Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois have owned the province while the NDP has never been much more than a blip on the radar screen. It has elected only one MP in Quebec - and that was in a byelection in 1990.

While under no illusions about the challenges that lie ahead, Layton believes Quebecers are ripe for change on the federal scene.

And in his bid to have the party make a breakthrough and win some of the province's 75 seats, Layton has become a frequent visitor to Quebec since he became leader last January.

"I've spent more time in Quebec than any other province, possibly even including Ontario, if we were to exclude Ottawa, and absolutely if we were to exclude Ottawa and Toronto," Layton said in an interview.

"It's a very significant priority for us. It's partly because I'm from there and I have a dream of actually accomplishing the construction of a genuine pan-Canadian political party that doesn't have a great big gap in Quebec."

Layton, who was a Toronto city councillor before becoming leader, has Quebec roots. He was born near Montreal and went to McGill University. His father, Robert Layton, was a Conservative cabinet minister under Brian Mulroney, and his grandfather, Gilbert Layton, was a member of the Quebec legislature for the Union Nationale in the 1930s.

The bilingual Layton said the party will field a candidate in every riding in Quebec and is concentrating on seeking locals with deep roots.

He is also hoping his decentralizing policies will resonate with Quebecers who might be leery about Ottawa's powers being too sweeping.

If the NDP is to make any impact whatsoever, it will have to attract small-l liberals who find Leader Paul Martin too conservative.

Layton, 53, also wants to target people who supported the Bloc in the past because of its social policies.

The NDP might be helped in that regard because Quebec independence likely won't be a hot-button issue during the federal election campaign.

But can the NDP steal votes from the Bloc with sovereignty no longer a key issue?

"Only if we have an attractive option and understanding of how a flexible federalism can work and an understanding of the way Quebecers like to do things," Layton said.

Bloc spokesman Martin Viau said the NDP is actually more of a centralizing party than the Liberals.

"We're recognized by our members and by voters as the only party that's really progressive in Quebec," said Viau, who rejected the view Quebecers might abandon the Bloc in favour of the NDP.

"They have no base in Quebec."

Layton is also optimistic Quebecers might turn away from the Liberals because they disagree with Martin's views on various issues, including the environment and missile-defence programs.

"As these things begin to sink in, I think an erosion of that (Liberal) support is there."

Dennis Dawson, a spokesman for Martin, acknowledged Layton represents a change from previous NDP leaders.

"He is aggressive and he's certainly having a lot more impact than some of his predecessors," Dawson said in an interview.

Dawson said the NDP's performance will depend largely on where Layton positions himself on Quebec-driven issues.

He said the NDP faces a major challenge in Quebec, not only as a federalist party but also because it must choose which segment of the electorate to go after.

And Dawson had a warning for all of the Liberals' opponents, including the NDP: the Grits will target all 75 ridings and won't run any fringe candidates.

Antonia Maioni, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, said the NDP might benefit from some of the labour unrest that could hit Quebec this winter and next spring because of Premier Jean Charest's policies. Charest has angered unions with his emphasis on smaller government and subcontracting of government services.

"In that context, if the NDP can reorganize its message properly, that's a wellspring of support they could tap into," Maioni said in an interview.

"The problem in Quebec is that a lot of the voters the NDP would like to attract are sovereigntist voters and they either stay home for a general election or, as they have been doing in the past few elections, they have been voting for the Bloc.

"Layton's challenge is to see whether he can appeal to that group in any way through his left-wing policies and then if he can galvanize any left-liberal rump in English-speaking Quebec."

Maioni praised Layton's physical presence, his fluency in French and his communications skills but wondered whether all that would be enough for the party to win any seats at all or any kind of support outside of Montreal.