Federal election officially set for Sept. 20

The Liberal leader is launching a campaign just short of two years after the last vote, when his party was reduced to a minority government and polls suggest it’s far from certain the party can snag a majority this time.

But Trudeau is gambling that general satisfaction with his handling of the pandemic and the unprecedented billions doled out in emergency aid will propel them past the 170 seats needed for a majority in the 338-seat House of Commons.

Liberal strategists privately acknowledge that voters could punish the party for perceived opportunism, particularly if the pandemic worsens or the campaign triggers a super-spreader event.

Criticism about the speed of the Liberal response to COVID-19, particularly its slow procurement of vaccines, could also be in the offing.

But they’re banking on voters rewarding the government for the fact that Canada now leads the world in vaccinations, which should prevent the fourth wave from being as deadly as the first three.

Tam has said she believes Canadians should be able to vote safely in a pandemic election, provided public health protocols are followed.

The Liberals have also maintained that a minority Parliament had become toxic and dysfunctional and that they need a strong majority mandate in order to implement the recovery plan.

Opposition parties dismiss these claims, pointing out that the government has not lost any confidence votes, including on its spring budget, and arguing that holding an election during a pandemic is irresponsible and dangerous.

Even so, opposition leaders have been criss-crossing the country making campaign-style announcements in recent weeks.

Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, for his part, will likely seek to seize on his party’s reputation for fiscal restraint as anxieties grow over inflation and rising debt levels following a massive $354-billion deficit for 2020-21, which pushed Canada’s net debt past $1 trillion for the first time ever.

Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, adopting a tax-the-rich populism and an upbeat tone, is set to argue he pried pandemic relief out of a reluctant minority government, including beefed-up wage subsidies, emergency benefits and sick-leave payments.

Meanwhile, Bloc Québécois’ Yves-François Blanchet is targeting Conservative seats in and around Quebec City where he hopes his message of nationalism — though not outright sovereignty — will resonate.

Green Leader Annamie Paul will launch her campaign in the riding of Toronto Centre, where she is hoping to win a seat in the House of Commons.

At dissolution, the Liberals had 155 seats, the Conservatives 119, the Bloc Québécois 32, the NDP 24 and the Greens two. There were also five Independents and one vacancy.

It will mark the third time in as many years voters in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith riding have cast ballots.

The Green Party’s Paul Manly won a May 2019 by-election during a shuffle of representation started by BC NDP MLA Leonard Krog’s move into municipal politics, followed by then-Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP Sheila Malcolmson replacing him in Victoria.

Manly was re-elected during the 2019 Federal Election in October 2019, defeating a largely unchanged field.

It will be the second election of the COVID-19 pandemic for British Columbians.

John Horgan’s BC NDP secured a majority government during an October 2020 election.

–with files from The Canadian Press

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by NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Federal election officially set for Sept. 20

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