In the early going of the 2015 federal election campaign, Stephen Harper has held two campaign events in Quebec in two days.
After calling the election Sunday, Harper attended a rally in Montreal’s Mount Royal riding. He followed up that appearance with a visit to Laval Monday morning.
Harper likely chose Quebec as the starting point for his campaign given that this is where the Conservatives really need to make inroads. There are 78 seats up for grabs in Quebec, and right now the Tories only have five. None of those seats are in the Montreal area -- the Tories have never been able to pull off a win in the Montreal region.
Mount Royal is a longtime Liberal stronghold that was Pierre Trudeau’s former riding. It will be one of many ridings to watch in this campaign, with the Conservative candidate Robert Libman facing off against Liberal candidate Anthony Housefather.
During his appearance in Laval, Harper announced that a Conservative government would spend $60 million a year on tax credits for businesses that hire tradespeople. He says this apprentice job creation tax credit would help deal with a skilled labour shortage.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was campaigning and meeting families in Laval two weeks ago -- criticizing Harper for the Universal Child Care Benefit, saying that it benefits wealthy families who don't really need it, while shortchanging the middle class.
A first-time Liberal candidate in LaSalle-Emard-verdun was pounding the pavement handing out flyers Monday, in a bid to make himself more familiar with local citizens and upset the NDP incumbent.
McGill law professor David Lametti said he understands their concerns.
“There are a large number of seniors in the riding and they're certainly concerned with their ability to make ends meet. There's a huge middle-class here and of course they're working hard to make ends meet and they've had a tough time,” he said.
While the Liberals have been focusing on Conservative tax policies, in Quebec, it seems their toughest competition will be the NDP, a party that won 59 seats in the last election.
Lametti is up against incumbent Helene Leblanc, who was elected in 2011 with 42 per cent of the vote.
“Frankly I think people have to compare the Liberal team in Quebec to the NDP team. We have attracted through this open nomination process outstanding men and women who weren't just elected by accident,” he said.
Analysts say Quebec is one of the key battlegrounds in this campaign.
“We're going to see a lot of campaigning in Quebec and Ontario because this is not only where the most seats are, but also where the most swing seats are, because a lot of them were tight races the last time,” said Sebastian Dallaire, vice-president of public affairs for Leger research and polling firm.
Monday afternoon, Trudeau campaigned in Calgary, stepping into Harper's home turf, while Harper spent time in Kingston, Ont.
Voters will head to the polls in Canada’s 42nd general election Oct. 19, making this an 11-week race -- the longest campaign in more than a century.
