The 31 month-old minority Conservative government won approval from the Governor General today for an election on 14th October. A number of factors underpin Conservative hopes of increasing their tally of seats:
Greg Weston of the Winnipeg Sun summarises the two main parties’ strategies:
"If the Conservatives can make the campaign all about the wobbly leadership and mangled messaging of Stephane Dion, the Liberals will likely be done like Thanksgiving dinner. But if the Grits can successfully frame Stephen Harper as an icy, right-wing autocrat who can’t be trusted with a majority government, the Conservatives may equally be in for an uphill campaign."
The road to a Conservative majority goes through the French province of Quebec. Mr Harper’s first campaign stop will be there. The ‘Family is everything’ video below also attempts to present Mr Harper as a family man. He has traditionally polled less well among women:
He reminded Canadians of his minority government’s achievements since coming to office:
Polls point to modest Tory gains if the election were held today but not an end to minority government status. Liberal leader Stephane Dion accuses the Conservatives of breaking a pledge to hold elections at fixed intervals. The Conservatives respond by saying that opposition tactics have made continued minority government unworkable.
We recommend BloggingTories as a gateway to keeping in touch with the campaign.