Gagnier headwinds buffet Liberal campaign

From there, the oil would travel to refineries and ports along the U.S. gulf coast. In a nutshell, Harper’s economic plan is more practical rather than Trudeau’s impractical vision.

Michael Robinson, who chaired the transition team when Paul Martin succeeded Jean Chretien as Liberal prime minister in 2003, said the cabinet appointments were a big job. That’s how much Justin Trudeau has promised in new spending during this campaign. A poll by Forum Research for the Toronto Star pegged Conservative support at 34 per cent, with the NDP at 28 per cent and the Liberals at 27 per cent. A poll by Nanos Research for CTV and the Globe and Mail put the Conservatives ahead with 32.8 per cent, followed by the Liberals at 31.7 per cent and the NDP at 26.1 per cent.

“I think it’s going to be an incredibly close campaign”, said one senior Conservative, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Amidst sexual-harassment allegations that had made interparty relations even more toxic than usual, Liberals would be on one side of the bar and New Democrats the other.

For Harper, a loss to the Liberals would be personally devastating.

After finally establishing themselves as the main alternative to the Tories last election, the last thing the NDP wants to do is help the Liberals go back to being the natural governing party.

As the signs seem fairly clear that Canadians probably are leaning towards change, but they don’t want it all at once, nor do they want something that’s too drastic, they are likely to seek out a moderate option, which traditionally is associated with the Liberals. He beat expectations in every debate and out-and-out won several of them in the perception of voters.

Quebec: Liberals (32 per cent); NDP (25 per cent); Conservative (22 per cent); Bloc Québécois (17 per cent); Green (four per cent).

The New Democratic Party is deserving of a chance to form the next government.

In line with British tradition, the head of the party that wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons becomes prime minister. Canada will eventually need to address its carbon emissions, as part of a global effort to combat climate change; a co-ordinated national approach would be preferable to the provincial patchwork we will otherwise get.

The undoing of both the Conservative and NDP parties may come down to the niqab.

Not a single kilometre of pipeline has been built under Stephen Harper’s watch, he noted. Canada suffered less from the 2008 financial crisis than its southern neighbor, but Canada’s economy has been outpaced by the U.S.in recent years.

He has come out strong against appeals to legalise marijuana and he has opposed a ruling by Canada’s top court that allows people to take the oath of citizenship wearing face coverings or niqabs.

The province has been a particular focus of Harper’s in the waning days of the election, with the Conservative leader also campaigning in the province Thursday and Saturday. The photograph hit home in Canada, where the toddler’s aunt lives. Trudeau said only the email was “inappropriate”.

While Harper has been in power since 2006, he has held a parliamentary majority only since 2011. Unlike in the United States, where citizens vote for their choice of president, Canadians don’t vote for the Prime Minister directly. “They said we’d never win in Alberta, but with Rachel Notley, you all proved them wrong”. The party had been struggling in the two years since the coronation of Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader.

“New Canadians from India, from South Asia, have also found this Conservative government respects your values”, Mr Harper said at a campaign event in Brampton on Wednesday, noting that while Liberals may support legalised prostitution, his party won’t.