Federal election sure to be nasty, expensive and long

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper seeks to overcome a sputtering economy and two hard-charging opposition parties with a surprise summer election.

Thestar.com
Aug. 2, 2015
By Bruce Campion-Smith and Les Whittington

Canadians will have from now to Thanksgiving to chart the country’s political future after Conservative Leader Stephen Harper turned up at Rideau Hall on a warm August holiday weekend to kick off the Oct. 19 election.

Harper seeks to overcome a sputtering economy and two hard-charging opposition parties with a surprise summer election call that is plunging Canadians into the longest campaign in modern times.

Bidding for a rare fourth consecutive mandate, Harper met with Gov. Gen. David Johnston on Sunday to set the wheels in motion on Canada’s 42nd election.

Besides being the longest electoral contest in memory, it has the potential to be the most expensive and bitter election battle ever witnessed in this country. The airwaves have been blaring with attack ads for months and the nasty tone is not likely to ease off in the weeks ahead.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau - both seeking to end the emerging Conservative dynasty - said Canadians deserve better than a government that, as Trudeau put it, is “tired, out of ideas and disconnected from reality.”

Harper sought to portray the contest as a choice between his experienced leadership and two untried opposition leaders. He said the Tories’ experience in steering the country since 2006 is vital as Canada confronts economic instability and security threats from abroad.

“A national election is not a popularity contest,” Harper said, minutes after meeting with Johnston.

“Canadians will make a critical decision about the direction of our country, a decision with real consequences, a decision about who has the proven experience today to keep our economy strong and our country safe,” he told reporters on the front steps of Rideau Hall.

Mulcair launched his campaign telling voters that his experience, values and ideas make him the politician best able to deliver the change they deserve.

“I want to speak to every Canadian who thinks Mr. Harper’s government is on the wrong track, to every Canadian who is looking for change in Ottawa,” said Mulcair, a former Quebec provincial cabinet minister.

“I believe that governing is about priorities. Mr. Harper’s priority is to spend millions of dollars on self-serving government advertising and an early election call,” Mulcair remarked outside the Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., overlooking Parliament Hill.

“My priority is to invest in affordable, quality child care, to help families and the economy,” said Mulcair, who highlighted other priorities, such as more protection for the environment and a better relationship with indigenous peoples.

Trudeau, who opened his campaign in Vancouver, slammed Harper for setting up an 11-week electoral contest, which the Liberals estimate will cost taxpayers $400 million - $125 million more than the usual five-week run to voting day.

The lengthy campaign is “the best idea he could come with to help him keep his job,” the Liberal leader said.

Surrounded by other Liberal candidates, a relaxed-looking Trudeau said his party will focus on its plan to rejuvenate the economy by addressing the economic challenges of the middle-class: “Liberals understand this: when the middle class does well, so does the entire country.”

He also took a shot at Mulcair, saying the NDP leader’s plans are unrealistic. “You don’t want to replace a failed (Conservative) plan for the economy with a mirage,” Trudeau said.

Asked why he was in Vancouver on the day the election was called in Ottawa, he said he had promised to attend the Pride Parade there. “And I’ll tell you something: no one’s going to get me to break my word, particularly not Stephen Harper.”

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May launched her campaign on Vancouver Island, taking aim at Harper.

Canadians, she said, “deserve MPs who put Parliament ahead of party” and can set aside “hyper-partisanship,” the Canadian Press reported.

Gilles Duceppe has returned as leader of the Bloc Quebecois, hoping to recapture some political success after the separatist party was decimated in the 2011 campaign.

This election will be the longest since the years immediately after Confederation. Critics have charged that the Conservatives, with their deep pockets, seek to outspend their rivals while at the same time seeking to shut down third-party advertisers now that the election is on.

Prior to the election call, there was no limit on the amount of money so-called third-party groups could spend on advertising. But with the campaign under way, election laws sharply limit how much third-party groups can spend on political ads, with the total for any group being about $200,000.

Harper tried to justify the early election call, charging that because the other leaders were already on the campaign trail, it was necessary to get all the parties operating under the same rules that kick in once the election is underway.

Of the lengthy run to voting day, he said Canadians deserve the time to “consider the alternatives.”

“This is an election about leadership on the big issues that affect us all, our economy and our nation’s security,” he said.

It won’t be long before those four leaders square off. The first debate of the election takes place in Toronto on Thursday, presented by Maclean’s magazine.

Whatever the outcome, this electoral contest promises to be one for the history books. Will Canadians vote to return Harper and his Conservatives to government in a rare, fourth straight election win? Will they cast their ballots for a first ever NDP government? Or will the Liberals rebound from their time in the political penalty box?

At the very least, the Oct. 19 election will certainly bring new faces to the House of Commons. On top of dozens of MPs not running again, another 30 seats have been created since the last election to account for population changes, bringing the total to 338.

The Conservatives head into the campaign with 159 seats, the New Democrats 95 and Liberals 36. The Bloc Quebecois, Green Party and Forces et Democratie had two seats a piece. There were eight independent MPs and four vacant seats.