Through an extended campaign of spurious accusations, and character assassination, the Harper Conservatives want to suppress the opposition vote.
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“Canadians have a clear choice”, he said.
So it’s quite possible that the ruling Conservatives could afford “attack ads” against both NDP Leader Tom Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau for months (while those parties will have to keep their powder dry until the last couple of weeks of the campaign).
After the numerous rumours and questioning of when the next federal election will be…it can all finally be put to rest as politicians are officially on the campaign trail.
“As it my intention to begin campaign-related activities and it is also the case for the other party leaders, it’s important that these campaigns be funded by the parties themselves, rather than taxpayers”, the Conservative leader said.
Polls show the Conservative are slightly trailing the left-leaning New Democrats (NDP), who have never governed Canada.
The date means it will be one of the longest and and most expensive campaigns in Canadian history.
Just hours after Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked for the dissolution of Parliament to touch off an 11-week election campaign, Trudeau promised to raise taxes on the wealthiest Canadians.
Combined, the parties could spend more than $53 million on their national campaigns, and candidates on average about $214,000 – more money than they’ve ever been allowed to spend before.
Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe gave a press briefing entirely in French, and told CBC he was surprised by the number of young people that have been joining his separatist party. They will also tout trade deals, although the one with the European Union has not been ratified.
Speaking shortly after Harper’s election call, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair slammed the Conservatives’ economic record.
At the campaign kick-off, Harper ignored the setbacks and insisted that Canada’s growth is the best amongst its trading partners, and that the budget is, in fact, balanced. Statistics Canada reported Friday that the total value of the country’s economy declined by 0.2 per cent in May, the fifth consecutive monthly slide.
The Tories have been running the Trudeau attack ads relentlessly, long after opinion polls suggested Liberal support had sagged into third place, largely to the benefit of the NDP which heads into the campaign with a slim lead over the Conservatives. When only 60 per cent of eligible voters turn out, a party wins a majority with votes from only 25 per cent of those on the voting list. In the last federal election, over 14 million Canadians tuned in to watch the National Broadcasters’ debate – why is Mr. Mulcair backing away?
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Quebec: 3 more seats (78 seats in total).
