Leaders make the rounds in final weekend of federal race


“We are in the equivalent of game seven of the Stanley Cup [Finals] in the last two minutes. And it’s all to play for and I intend to leave everything on the ice.”

Two days out from election day, the leaders of the Liberals and Conservatives are fanning out across Canada, holding a series of rallies and meet-and-greets as they deliver their final pitches to voters.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney is spending the day in Ontario, starting with an event and media availability in a Conservative-held riding in the Greater Toronto Area, prompting questions about whether he had eyes on potential pickups in the last days of the race.

“We’re trying to speak to as many Canadians as possible — energized, amazing groups of people like this,” he told reporters in King City, Ont., which is located in the riding of King-Vaughan, one of a few ridings that flipped from the Liberals to the Conservatives in the 2021 election.

“We are in the equivalent of game seven of the Stanley Cup [Finals] in the last two minutes. And it’s all to play for and I intend to leave everything on the ice.”

Carney is set to spend most of the day in the Greater Toronto Area. Following his event in King City, he’ll be visiting small businesses in Newmarket and Markham, holding a meet-and-great in Aurora, and attending a rally in Mississauga.

He’ll end the day with a trip south to host a rally in Windsor, which has become front-and-centre in the Canada-U.S. trade war owing to the several auto manufacturing facilities in the city and the presence of a hugely important border crossing.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who used a similar election strategy focused on the threat of U.S. tariffs earlier this year, started his campaign in Windsor.

Most polls show the Liberals narrowly leading the Conservatives nationally, but with Carney’s party comfortably ahead in key battlegrounds like Ontario and Quebec, and neck-and-neck with the Tories in B.C. That’s why many prognosticators are predicting that the Liberals will win a majority in Monday’s vote.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is starting his day with a rally in Greater Vancouver before making a “whistle stop” in Sudbury, Ont. He’s set to spend Sunday in Ontario, capping it off with a rally in his Ottawa-area riding.

Recent media reports have said the Conservatives are pouring resources into Carleton due to fears that Poilievre may lose his seat.

READ MORE: Ford-Poilievre rift on full display as federal race upended by strategic leaks

But despite the headwinds, Poilievre’s messaging in the final days of the campaign hasn’t shifted. He has continued to warn of the damage that would be caused by a “fourth Liberal term” and has tried to blame Carney for the shortcomings of the Trudeau era.

“Everything is at stake. This election is about change,” he said during a recent stop in Saskatoon.

Meanwhile, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh started his day in London, where the party is looking to retain the London—Fanshawe seat.

More to come…



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