Harper Calls Federal Election

Prime Minister Harper is expected to make the trip to Rideau Hall this morning and seek an election writ from the Governor General.

Mulcair and Trudeau also launched their campaigns on Sunday, with the NDP leader delivering a speech in Quebec – where he refused to take questions from reporters – while the Liberal leader held a press conference in Vancouver, before attending the city’s pride parade.

After carpet-bombing the airwaves for weeks with ads asserting that Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is “just not ready”, the ruling party is poised to start the official campaign with two new television ads targeting Mulcair.

Harper stands to become the first prime minister since Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 1908 to win four consecutive elections.

Gilles Duceppe, the leader of the Bloc Québécois, spoke in Montreal, saying he was struck by the number of young people who have joined the party. “This is time to stay the course and stick to our plan”.

Speaking shortly after Harper’s election call, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair slammed the Conservatives’ economic record.

Through an extended campaign of spurious accusations, and character assassination, the Harper Conservatives want to suppress the opposition vote.

The longer campaign period will allow parties to spend double the usual money that they could in a 37-day-campaign.

The Conservative Party leader said this election is about addressing the economy, national security, and global instability.

Harper, 56, now wades into what polls suggest will be a tough election for his Conservative Party, which has been in power for nine years.

This means a marathon and likely intense election campaign leading up the the federal election on October 19. The longest was 74 days in 1926.

“Of course the Conservatives get more money through this change, and they hope it disadvantages the others”.

Not everyone thinks the campaign will be too long.

In addition to being the longest campaign in more than a century, it promises to be the costliest ever, with taxpayers contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to help Elections Canada oversee the vote, and rebates to the parties for every dollar they spend.

The Liberals were the only major federal party to add to their seat totals through byelections during the last session of Parliament.

Having amassed vastly more money than any other party, the increased spending limits give the Conservative party and its candidates a huge advantage over their more impoverished rivals. The prime minister dissolved Parliament on Sunday.

Opposition parties say Harper has mishandled the economy and should boost government spending, a move he says would spark a crisis like the one ravaging Greece. The remainder of the seats are occupied by independent representatives.