The Canadian election is a dead heat two days out from the 20 September vote, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Conservative rival are both calling on supporters not to vote split, as it could hand their opponent victory.
Canada's Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole delivers a speech during a campaign stop in Russell, Ontario, on Tuesday. Photo: AFP
Both men campaigned in the same seat-rich Toronto region on Saturday, as they tried to fend off voter defections to the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) and the populist People's Party of Canada (PPC), both of which are rising in polls.
The latest Sondage Leger poll conducted for the Journal de Montreal and the National Post newspapers put the Conservatives one percentage point ahead of Trudeau's Liberals, with 33 percent over 32 percent. The NDP was at 19 percent, while the PPC was at 6 percent.
Trudeau, 49, called an early election, seeking to convert approval for his government's handling of the pandemic into a parliamentary majority. But he is now scrambling to save his job, with Canadians questioning the need for an early election amid a fourth pandemic wave.
"Despite what the NDP likes to say, the choice is between a Conservative or a Liberal government right now," Trudeau said in Aurora, Ontario. "And it does make a difference to Canadians whether we have or not a progressive government."
Canadian Prime Minister and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau campaigning on Monday in Vancouver. Photo: 2021 Getty Images
Trudeau has spent two of the final three days of his campaign in Ontario where polls show the NDP could gain seats, or split the progressive vote.
A tight race could result in another minority government, with the NDP, led by Jagmeet Singh, playing kingmaker. It has also put a focus on turnout, with low turnout historically favouring the Conservatives.
With polls suggesting a Liberal minority may be the most likely result on Monday, Trudeau was pressed on whether this could be his last election. He responded: "There is lots of work still to do, and I'm nowhere near done yet."
If voters give Trudeau a third term, everything they dislike about him "will only get worse," Conservative leader Erin O'Toole told supporters on Saturday, saying his party was the only option for anyone dissatisfied with the Liberals, in a dig at the PPC.
The PPC, which has channelled anger against mandatory vaccines into surprising support, could draw votes away from the Conservatives in close district races, helping the Liberals eke out a win.
Election hoardings in Richmond Hill, Ontario this week, ahead of the national election on Monday. Photo: AFP
On Saturday, the Liberals announced they would drop a candidate over a 2019 sexual assault charge that the party said was not disclosed to them. Kevin Vuong, a naval reservist running in an open Liberal seat in downtown Toronto, denied the allegations on Friday, noting the charge was withdrawn.
"Mr Vuong will no longer be a Liberal candidate, and should he be elected, he will not be a member of the Liberal caucus," the party said in a statement on Saturday.
Earlier this month, Liberal member of parliament Raj Saini ended his re-election campaign amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour toward female staffers.
O'Toole, 48, campaigned in Saini's district on Saturday, one of three Liberal ridings he is hoping to swing his way. Earlier, he appeared in a Conservative-held riding west of Toronto that was closely fought during the 2019 election.
The area's member of Parliament, who is not running again, came under fire last spring for saying Covid-19 lockdowns were the "single greatest breach of our civil liberties since the internment camps during WWII."
O'Toole, who said he wants to get 90 percent of Canadians vaccinated, has refused to say who among Conservative Party candidates have been vaccinated.
-Reuters