Fiercest election campaigning expected for last two weeks before vote
Posted Apr 18, 2011 05:55:00 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The countdown is on in the federal election campaign, with just two weeks left for the party leaders to try and win votes.
As we hit the final stretch, we should expect our politicians to get fiercer on the hustings.
It’s one of the most crucial times for candidates because many voters don’t make up their minds until late in the campaign.
“A lot of Canadians make up their mind later in a campaign,” says Steve Patten, a professor of political science at the University of Alberta. He says the biggest change will likely come from the Liberals who will start to heavily focus on the negative.
“They know that they need to shake up this campaign and they need to raise in Canadians some concern of what happens if Stephen Harper gets a majority,” adds Patten.
The New Democrats will continue their attack on all fronts but may have to narrow in on the Grits to try and prove a vote for the NDP does not mean a vote split to help the Conservatives.
And for the Tories, it should be “steady as she goes” Patten says, adding that the majority message is gaining traction and the party will keep driving it home until election day.
Meanwhile, it appears social media is having a significant impact this election.
On Twitterverse and blogosphere, election issues can vanish almost as quickly as they appear, and one social media expert suggests it has changed the pace of the campaign.
Mark Belvis says this election is being called by many the social-media election.
Before, Belvis says, elections used to unfold like a baseball game and now it’s more like a hockey game, with so much activity going on.
Belvis has been analyzing Twitter traffic with a special program and watches the rise and fall of certain issues.
He says the Helena Guergis issue showed a sharp spike after her tearful news conference, where she complained about being kicked out of the Tory caucus.
Belvis says the issue swamped all others — mostly because it could fit into the 140-character corset of a tweet.
