admin
Ottawa — Canadians appeared set to end nine years of Stephen Harper’s Conservative rule yesterday and elect a Liberal government led by Justin Trudeau, the son of a charismatic former prime minister. Polling released on Sunday on the eve of the vote showed the Liberals, after a late surge from third place, with a seven-point lead ahead of the Tories.
Public opinion, however, has swung wildly — up to 12 percentage points – during the campaign. And many of Canada’s 26.4 million registered voters remain undecided. At a final campaign stop in Calgary, Alberta, Trudeau said the Liberals offer “not just a change in government, but a better government.”
The 43-year-old is the son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, who is considered the father of modern Canada. He is hoping for a repeat of the “Trudeaumania” that in 1968 replaced the plodding management style of the old guard with his late father’s bullish vision and flare that Canadians were craving.
But Harper warned Canadians would pay more taxes under a Liberal government that would also plunge the nation back into deficit. “Every single vote for a Conservative candidate is a vote to protect our economy against Liberal… deficits and taxes,” he said. New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Thomas Mulcair, meanwhile, recalled scandals of the 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,” Mulcair said.
The first polling stations were to open at 0830hrs in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada’s most easterly province. The 11-week campaign, which was one of the longest in Canadian history, gave voters unprecedented exposure to the party leaders and their ideas 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. At times, the battle descended into personal attacks, with Tory ads suggesting that Trudeau — with his youthful good looks — is “just not ready” to be prime minister. — AFP
Online Reporter