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Canada's Conservative Party continues to dominate the election campaign Monday as it enters into its second week, while a new poll shows the Liberals still get more supporters than any other parties.
From cutting the Goods and Services Tax (GST), to improving health care, to reopening the debate on same-sex marriage, to cracking down on drug-related crime, Conservative leader Stephen Harper is the one who is controlling the news in the critical first few days of the 56-day race.
Starting with a child care subsidy plan on Monday, Harper is expected to continue to unveil his policy platform this week, leaving the Liberals in a much lower profile boasting on its economic record most of the time.
Mr. Harper is trying to present himself as a credible prime minister in waiting, observers said. Having been accused of hiding his agenda by the Liberals during the last campaign, Harper hopes this dynamic revealing of his plans will put to rest the uneasiness among many Canadians about what he would do with power, they said.
Unlike the Tories, the Liberals so far have adopted a low-key game plan. At a time when all the polls show Canadians are yearning for political change after a consecutive 13-year Liberal rule, its leader Paul Martin's message has been simple--embrace stability.
Forced to make most of his policy pronouncements weeks and even months ago simply to try keep his minority government alive, Paul Martin has not yet announced any new plans during the first week of the campaign, making news only by reacting to Harper's policy proclamation.
Martin unveiled 39 billion Canadian dollars (US$34 billion) in tax cuts and new spending just days before his government was brought down.
The Conservatives and two smaller opposition parties brought the Liberal government down on Nov.28 after a report that said kickbacks from government sponsorship contracts were used to illegally finance some Liberal election campaigns.
Plagued with the sponsorship scandal which has tarnished the Liberal brand, it appears Martin hopes to run on his own leadership traits of honesty and good intentions. All the while, he is praying for Harper's hubris to be his undoing, observers said.
In this polarized battle between the Tories and Grits, the New Democratic Party (NDP) seems just happy to get noticed as leader Jack Layton declares that only a strong contingent of New Democrats in the next Parliament will ensure the government enacts policies wanted by Canadians. Layton will reportedly release the bulk of his platform in the coming weeks.
The Bloc Quebecois under Gilles Duceppe is sure of its own political footing and appears confident it can do no wrong on the provincial home if it dominates. Stoking anger over the sponsorship scandal and appealing to Quebecers' deep-rooted pride are the foundations of Mr. Duceppe's strategy.
Observers point out that for all the parties, setting the framework for their strategy is critical in the first two weeks of the race. But the campaign remains highly unpredictable. When Canadians cast their votes Jan.23, few will remember the specific events of the past few days.
But the Tories' announcements so far have not dented the Liberals. Across the country, polling numbers remain stable with the Liberals holding a four-point edge over the Conservatives.
Recent polls show that the Conservatives have strengthened their showing in the Prairies but have slipped where the stakes are the highest, in the battle for Ontario's 106 seats in the 308-seat House of Commons.
A Strategic Counsel poll published in Monday's Globe and Mail put the Liberals at 34 percent and the Conservatives at 30 percent. The NDP came in at 16 percent.
Another tracking poll released on Sunday showed a substantially larger lead, of 38 percent to 29 percent, with the New Democrats at 15 percent.
(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2005)
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