TORONTO - Ontario's New Democrats have been dealt a blow with the loss of federal leader Jack Layton, but the outpouring of emotion over his death may help the party win more votes in the upcoming provincial election.

"What Jack has done is he's created a real sense of inspiration," said Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

"I think that coming out of the mourning, people will be re-energized to show that there is another option in Ontario as well, there is a different choice."

Layton's death has been personally trying for Horwath, who has described him as a mentor and a friend, as well as for many in the party who shared his adoptive province.

It also means the provincial New Democrats won't be able to count on the popular leader's advice or star power ahead of the Oct. 6 election, which is Horwath's first as head of the party.

"I'm certainly going to miss that advice in the next several weeks," Horwath said Thursday, visibly shaken after signing a book of condolences for Layton at the Ontario legislature.

"We're still going to have Jack's legacy putting wind under our wings ... but it's certainly not going to be the same."

Henry Jacek, a politics professor at McMaster University, said the party may actually get a boost from the outpouring of support and public mourning for Layton.

"There may be a lot of younger people who wouldn't have voted in the past but may come out and vote for the NDP because of Jack Layton," Jacek said, pointing the a massive chalk memorial at Toronto City Hall that includes posts that read: "I started voting because of Jack Layton."

"He made a great effort to attract young people."

Layton also helped polish the NDP brand, buffing away some of its rough edges and making it more attractive to a broader base.

"The NDP has traditionally had an image of people who were principled but they were also rough and tough -- they believed in their principles and were not willing to compromise," said Jacek.

"The way he lived his life, the way he campaigned, even his battle with cancer ... all served to soften that image."

Robert Drummond, a politics expert with York University, said that while Layton's absence could hurt the party, he may not have been able to take an active role in the fall campaign anyway because of his declining health and his duties as leader of the opposition.

"His visibility would have helped ...(but) there's probably a re-dedication by a lot of active members of the party that are feeling that they somehow owe it to his memory to put a bit more effort in the provincial campaign that they were planning to do," said Drummond.

Perhaps an even bigger challenge for the NDP will be trying to distance itself from former premier Bob Rae's unpopular government in the early 90s.

"There's been a lot of revision going on, but the more general reputation is, 'Yes, it wasn't a good time for Ontario and why would we elect them again?"' Drummond said.

"It will be a matter of Horwath having to distance herself a little bit from the Rae government."

Horwath has dismissed Rae's possible impact on the campaign, noting that he is now a Liberal, and that party's interim leader.

And while Horwath says her party will draw great strength from Layton's spirit, Jacek believes the person who may make the most gains from the public sentiment toward Layton is Ontario's Liberal premier, Dalton McGuinty.

"While he's no Jack Layton, the way he praised him and the way he's been conducting himself in a positive manner, he's probably working harder than anybody to try to draw on the positive image of Jack Layton," said Jacek.

"He may get more of a bang out of it than Andrea Horwath."