Veils and lost voices: Canada set to vote

Political party leaders criss-crossed Canada on Sunday in a last-gasp attempt to sway many still undecided voters, the final chapter in a gripping and hard-fought three-way election fight.

An 11-week campaign that will culminate in up to 26.4 million people voting on Monday was one of the longest in the nation's history, giving Canadians unprecedented exposure to party leaders and their viewpoints in five debates and almost daily stump speeches.

Along the bruising way was a record influx of people fleeing war in Syria, a court ruling quashing a veil ban and a recession -- crises that gave Canadians a chance to assess parties' reactions in near-real time.

Polls shifted wildly -- up to 12 percentage points -- as leaders wrangled over the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, and whether to strip convicted terrorists of their citizenship.
In power since 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is seeking a fourth mandate, hoping to hold onto key Tory support in the western plains and in suburban Toronto, Canada's largest city.

But the 56-year-old faces stiff opposition from his emboldened rivals.

The Liberals started the race behind, but took the lead in a late surge and on the eve of voting leader Justin Trudeau appeared set to step into his father's big shoes, according to polls.

The 43-year-old is son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, who is considered the father of modern Canada. The younger Trudeau's colorful past  includes working variously as a snowboard instructor, a bartender and a bouncer.

And then there is Thomas Mulcair, 60. As head of the New Democratic Party (NDP), he's hoping to build on a second-place finish in the last ballot, in 2011, and govern for the first time ever.

But the NDP has stumbled in recent weeks, losing key support in Quebec province over its opposition to a popular ban on the niqab, or veil.

Polling released Sunday showed the Liberals seven points ahead of the Tories, at 37.3 percent versus 30.5 percent.

According to the Nanos survey of 2,000 Canadians taken on October 15 to 17, the NDP sank to 22.1 percent nationwide. The margin of error was 2.2 percent.

- Nearing the finish -

The battle has descended at times into personal attacks, with Tory ads suggesting that Trudeau -- with his youthful good looks -- is "just not ready" to be prime minister.

There have also been scandals thrown into the mix.

One played out early in the campaign and saw Harper's former chief of staff testifying against a Conservative senator accused of bribery, breach of trust and fraud.

Another involved the co-chair of the Liberal campaign, who resigned Wednesday after a leaked email showed he was shilling for a pipeline builder during the campaign.
Over the past nine years, Harper has led two minority and one majority government, under mandates that have never exceeded 40 percent of the popular vote.

He is now up against a strong desire for a change in government and his personal image is at an all-time low -- highlighted by Tory television spots that open with "Stephen Harper may not be perfect..."

At campaign stops in Quebec and Ontario before flying westward, Harper performed the Beatles song "Let it be" and thanked crack-smoking former Toronto mayor Rob Ford for his support.

"Every single vote for a Conservative candidate is a vote to protect our economy against Liberal and NDP deficits and taxes," Harper said in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Trudeau is hoping for a repeat of the "Trudeaumania" that replaced in 1968 the plodding management style of the old guard with his father's bullish vision and flare that Canadians were craving.

He apologized for having lost his voice, and said the Liberals are offering "not just a change in government but a better government."

Trudeau also revealed that his son turned eight Sunday, and that Trudeau regretted missing his birthday party.

But he added, "I'm not in politics, despite of my kids, I'm in politics because of my kids and making sure that I'm offering all Canadians a better future."

Mulcair, meanwhile, at a stop in Toronto took aim at the frontrunner, recalling scandals of last Liberal administration.

"They may try to fool you by giving the old car a fresh coat of paint. But as we've seen, the Liberal party is just as rusted-out underneath as it was when Canadians kicked them out of office for corruption the last time," he said.

Source: AFP