This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/02/canada-national-election-stephen-harper
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Canada to hold national election in major test for PM Stephen Harper | Canada to hold national election in major test for PM Stephen Harper |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, on Sunday triggered a general election campaign, with the vote set for 19 October. Harper said on Sunday he had asked Canadian governor general David Johnson to dissolve parliament. | The Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, on Sunday triggered a general election campaign, with the vote set for 19 October. Harper said on Sunday he had asked Canadian governor general David Johnson to dissolve parliament. |
| Related: Canada's Liberals face bleak future – is it too late for Justin Trudeau to save them? | |
| Harper, 56, said the election would be about keeping the economy strong and Canadians safe from terrorist attacks. He said now was not the time for inexperience and “political correctness”, referring to the opposition leftist New Democratic party. | Harper, 56, said the election would be about keeping the economy strong and Canadians safe from terrorist attacks. He said now was not the time for inexperience and “political correctness”, referring to the opposition leftist New Democratic party. |
| “Our wellbeing depends on the economy and the wrong leader will do real harm,” he said. “Now is not the time for the kinds of harmful economic schemes that are doing so much damage elsewhere in the world.” | “Our wellbeing depends on the economy and the wrong leader will do real harm,” he said. “Now is not the time for the kinds of harmful economic schemes that are doing so much damage elsewhere in the world.” |
| After serving as prime minister for nine years – the last four with a handsome parliamentary majority – Harper faces a career-defining battle in his fifth election as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. | After serving as prime minister for nine years – the last four with a handsome parliamentary majority – Harper faces a career-defining battle in his fifth election as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. |
| He enters the campaign trailing New Democratic leader Thomas Mulcair in opinion polls, facing down an economic recession that has shattered his promise to deliver a balanced budget, and doing it all without the aid of several key ministers who have recently resigned from the Tory front benches. | He enters the campaign trailing New Democratic leader Thomas Mulcair in opinion polls, facing down an economic recession that has shattered his promise to deliver a balanced budget, and doing it all without the aid of several key ministers who have recently resigned from the Tory front benches. |
| Although a clear majority of Canadians have told pollsters they want Harper gone, the result is no sure thing. The loyalties of anti-conservative voters are once again split between Mulcair’s New Democrats and the Liberal Party under freshman leader Justin Trudeau, both of which espouse broadly similar centre-left policies. | Although a clear majority of Canadians have told pollsters they want Harper gone, the result is no sure thing. The loyalties of anti-conservative voters are once again split between Mulcair’s New Democrats and the Liberal Party under freshman leader Justin Trudeau, both of which espouse broadly similar centre-left policies. |
| As a result, both opposition leaders enter the election under strong pressure to agree that they will cooperate to oust Harper and form a coalition government in the event of a hung parliament. | As a result, both opposition leaders enter the election under strong pressure to agree that they will cooperate to oust Harper and form a coalition government in the event of a hung parliament. |
| In addition to the advantage of a divided opposition, Harper enters the fray as the most successful street fighter in modern Canadian politics, having survived previous minority parliaments and opposition coalitions with fierce skill and iron discipline. | In addition to the advantage of a divided opposition, Harper enters the fray as the most successful street fighter in modern Canadian politics, having survived previous minority parliaments and opposition coalitions with fierce skill and iron discipline. |
| His party’s brutal attack on Trudeau, using ads mocking him as a trivial ingenue who is “just not ready” to lead the country, have almost certainly contributed to the Liberal leader’s precipitate drop in popularity and the accompanying rise of the more experienced Mulcair, a former Quebec cabinet minister, as the electorate’s first choice to replace Harper. | His party’s brutal attack on Trudeau, using ads mocking him as a trivial ingenue who is “just not ready” to lead the country, have almost certainly contributed to the Liberal leader’s precipitate drop in popularity and the accompanying rise of the more experienced Mulcair, a former Quebec cabinet minister, as the electorate’s first choice to replace Harper. |
| The prime minister’s main challenge remains an economy that has been brought to a virtual standstill by the collapse in oil prices, leading to mass layoffs in the Tory-friendly “oil patch” of western Canada and the sharp devaluation of the Canadian dollar. | The prime minister’s main challenge remains an economy that has been brought to a virtual standstill by the collapse in oil prices, leading to mass layoffs in the Tory-friendly “oil patch” of western Canada and the sharp devaluation of the Canadian dollar. |
| Related: Canada's anti-terror legislation faces legal challenge by free speech advocates | |
| The Conservatives had planned their campaign on the basis of ongoing cost cuts to achieve a balanced budget, a goal many experts now consider impossible to achieve. | The Conservatives had planned their campaign on the basis of ongoing cost cuts to achieve a balanced budget, a goal many experts now consider impossible to achieve. |
| Their current campaign focuses on increased spending, in particular a child-care dividend described as “Christmas in July” by Conservative minister Pierre Poilievre. | Their current campaign focuses on increased spending, in particular a child-care dividend described as “Christmas in July” by Conservative minister Pierre Poilievre. |
| Opposition parties blame Conservative austerity for plunging Canada into recession while its major trading partners thrive. | Opposition parties blame Conservative austerity for plunging Canada into recession while its major trading partners thrive. |
| But at the same time, they fear that worried Canadians will once again turn to the Conservatives, with their traditional reputation for sound economic management, to help solve the crisis their policies helped to create. | But at the same time, they fear that worried Canadians will once again turn to the Conservatives, with their traditional reputation for sound economic management, to help solve the crisis their policies helped to create. |