Three federal party leaders made campaign stops in Montreal Monday as the race moves in to its second week.
The Liberals and the Bloc held events as NDP Leader Tom Mulcair launched his memoir in a bid to shed some light on his personal life.
The plan wasn’t to launch the book, Strength of Conviction,during a general election campaign, he said.
“When we picked these dates, and we looked at the publication of this book, we weren't supposed to right in the middle of the second week of a general election campaign,” he said.
Although it might not have been part of the plan, it appears to be a good move for the NDP leader.
While the party's former leader and star Jack Layton was well known, and the public seems to have a good grasp on Stephen Harper and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, Mulcair seems to be more of a mystery to many.
“I'm thrilled to be able to introduce myself to people who don't know the details about my career,” he said.
He read a passage to about 150 supporters, and answered questions from the media, but notably stayed away from discussing his stance on the Clarity Act, an issue that provided one of the key moments in Thursday’s leaders’ debate.
“Both referenda took place under Liberal governments. They were the 1980 referendum, where I fought tooth and nail to keep Quebec in Canada and the 1995 referendum. Unlike Mr. Trudeau who keeps talking about these things, I know Quebecers have other priorities,” he said.
As happened earlier in the day in Toronto, Mulcair’s event in Montreal was interrupted by protesters demanding the NDP block the Energy East pipeline project that would take Alberta's oil to New Brunswick.
“The problem with this project and the others is Stephen Harper removed many environmental laws and people are upset by that,” said Mulcair.
The NDP policy supports an east-west pipeline across Canada, and supports refining crude and tar sands within the country.
Conservative Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel was also out on the campaign trail, introducing candidate Valerie Assouline in Pierrefonds-Dollard.
The Bloc Quebec also held a campaign event in Terrebonne.
Meantime, Trudeau held a rally for about 700 supporters at L’Astral in downtown Montreal.
“Canadians want change because Stephen Harper's plan is not working for them. Let’s face it, this is a tough economy of the middle class and for those working hard to join it, and it shows no signs of it getting better. In fact, as Stephen Harper steers us back into recession, it shows every sign of getting worse, he told supporters.
Both the NDP and the Liberals are expected to spend a lot of time in Quebec -- a battleground the NDP wants to hang on to, and one the Liberals want to win back.
