Two weeks until election day, how the political campaigns may change
Posted Apr 18, 2011 05:37:05 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – The countdown is on in the federal election campaign.
With just two weeks left for the party leaders to try and win your vote, it is one of the most crucial times for candidates.
Steve Patten, a professor of political science at the University of Alberta, says this is largely due to the fact that many voters do not make up their minds until late in the campaign.
Patten says the biggest change over the next two weeks 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 if Stephen Harper gets a majority.”
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.
As for what the Tory plan should be over the next two weeks, Patten says it should be steady as she goes.
“Their goal is to be steady and focused and keep emphasizing the importance of electing a majority.”
He says the Conservative’s majority message is gaining traction with Canadian voters and the party should keep driving the it home until election day.
Canadian soldiers will begin casting their ballots, Monday, in Afghanistan.
More than 28-hundred members of the Canadian Armed Forces are eligible to vote.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and Prime Minister Stephen Harper will spend the day in Yellowknife, NWT.
Harper will then head to Thunder Bay where he’ll meet up with the candidate for the Western Arctic.
NDP leader Jack Layton will spend the day campaigning in Quebec.
