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Political parties prepare election campaign

Election day is set for October 19th and the Prime Minister says that’s a firm date.

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“It will just be a continuation of what we’re doing”. The Liberals still must name candidates in six ridings.

“They’re already starting, it’s already going on and whether they make it official doesn’t make too much of a difference”, said Valerie.

“We are absolutely well prepared and well positioned for this campaign”.

Elections Canada estimates that a typical 37-day campaign would cost roughly $375 million to administer. But an election call Sunday would affect him in a small way.

“Campaigns are pretty basic”.

One key element parties would have to manage carefully in an extended campaign is volunteer time. But if mistakes are by the Tories during the campaign, then the longer the white heat of scrutiny is shone upon them the more painful the burn.

‘All governments are interested in re-election and all politicians will try to turn an opportunity into something good for them’

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He’d deal with that potential problem by bringing in more people for fewer shifts each week.

Garneau said this “disproportionately benefits the Conservatives, who have more cash on hand than they can legally spend within the normal election time line of 37 days”. That is a net advantage to the Tories, given most of those groups – seniors excepted – tend to vote for left-of-centre parties, he said.

There’s also talk of a speaking tour similar to the whistlestop train trips leaders once took across the country, although not likely going by rail, he said. “When you go into an election campaign, anything can happen”, he pointed out.

“I don’t speculate, and I particularly don’t speculate on my own actions”, Harper told Bloomberg. And for the past four years, Stephen Harper and his Conservatives have been continually out-fundraising their opponents, amassing millions of dollars in donations.

A longer campaign won’t just cost the parties more money – it would also hit taxpayers.

Who knows? We may even say after an 11-week campaign that we’d like to see all political parties adhering to the same Advertising Standards Canada code that applies to the private sector – “truth, fairness, accuracy”.

He’s keeping in shape and eating less meat and more vegetables to stay healthy for the grind ahead.

“A genuine three-way race is a real novelty”, said Young. NDP numbers weren’t available.

Garneau slammed the Conservatives for raising campaign spending limits for all candidates, thereby making it easier for the Conservatives to spend their sizable war chest of campaign money.

Last Sunday, print reporters, columnists and camera crews watched as floor-crossing former Conservative MP Eve Adams attempted to win the Liberal nomination in the Toronto riding of Eglinton-Lawrence. True, a lot of the anger directed towards David Peterson and the Liberals in 1990 was due to the fact that he called the election two years early.

Uppal previously announced a federal investment of $295,000 to support the Edmonton Economic Development Corp.to expand trade and investment opportunities.

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Asked about the possibility of a weekend writ drop during a funding announcement in Calgary on Thursday, Jason Kenney, the Conservatives’ political minister for southern Alberta, said “that remains to be determined”.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper steps out of his residence at 24 Sussex drive Monday