A look at Friday’s key developments on the federal campaign trail

He has suggested that the shameful inaction of the Conservative government on Syrian refugees is the result of so-called “security concerns” – the implication being that refugees fleeing danger only wish to come to Canada in order to destroy it from within.

“This is pretty much what we anticipated, but it’s interesting seeing the numbers at this late stage in the campaign”, he said, adding the Liberal support will be more than the difference between first and second place.

The audit did not affect the processing of privately sponsored files. He also demanded that Harper apologize. But if these new stories lead Canadians to believe that Mr Harper is playing politics with the asylum system – by giving preference to applicants who were potential supporters or from particular religious backgrounds – his image as a unifying leader of a diverse nation could be jeopardised.

“(Harper) had already done that before he appeared before us to emote, talking about his own family after seeing the body of that little child on that beach in Turkey.

“The Liberal government in Quebec has brought forward legislation to require that people reveal their identity when delivering or receiving frontline service”, Harper said.

Later Thursday, Harper defended the PMO’s audit of the Syrian refugee applications. He also said political staff are never involved in the approval of refugee applications.

Leave aside the attack ads, the personality wars, and the rhetorical sniping that accompany all close-fought election campaigns. Existing intelligence on the ground in Syria in particular makes identifying those people a challenge.

The Conservative government committed in January to resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2017.

It said the halt meant UN-approved Syrian refugees had their resettlement in Canada delayed.

The party is trying to capitalize on criticism of the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks – including from U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton – as it promises to make participation in global negotiations more open. Good trade can create jobs and increase connections between countries.

“And he sort of looked at me, and he didn’t really know what to answer, and he said, ‘Well, ask me a specific question.’ And I said, ‘Okay, well, suppose you have something that you know is right for the country”. Mulcair went over the highlights one more time and repeated his commitment to repeal Bill C51.

“Trust me, apart from the kids, your energy just feeds him when he’s out on the road so long”, said Sophie Gregoire, encouraging thousands of cheering partisans as she introduced Trudeau in Brampton, Ontario, last weekend.

“Canada is losing their leadership on protection of refugees and this is confirmation that government doesn’t have interest in improving that”. I embrace this strategic voting because the downside of another Conservative majority government vastly outweighs the upside of any particular opposition party winning.

Now the NDP is slumping in national polls.

Not only has the Harper government failed to lead, it has delighted in its intransigence, obstructing worldwide progress repeatedly at important conferences. When it comes to TPP, he simply had no mandate to sign a major agreement, in secret, just days before an election.

One of the largest ticket items is the party’s National Childcare Plan, with a cost of $6.2 billion over four years. If old is the standard, then Harper is the new kid in town compared to me.