nds76
01-01-2006, 10:39am
In anticipation of the campaign turning nasty, the Conservatives are already working to prepare Canadians for the attacks they expect will come in the new year.
An ad on the Conservative Party website describes the Liberal party as one that has been in power too long and is engulfed in scandal, then asks: "What message can you possible take to the people of Canada?"
The ad then flashes a clipping from The Globe and Mail that reads "PM plans negative campaign." The ad ends by encouraging voters to "do something positive," when they vote.
With only about three weeks before the election, and the Liberals and Conservatives in a virtual dead heat, many expect the election race to turn nasty when full campaigning resumes on January 2.
And both the Liberals and the Conservatives seem to have ammunition that developed over the Christmas break.
An RCMP investigation into allegations that vital information was leaked to Bay Street before a major government announcement has become a thorn in the Liberals' side.
And now the Conservatives are also on the defensive. Gordon Stamp, the campaign manager for Conservative Edmonton MP Peter Goldring, resigned after it was revealed he had written, "If the Liberals remain in power, we will be working on Alberta separation after January 23rd.''
That followed the resignation of a Liberal party executive who had slurred NDP candidate Olivia Chow, putting her picture above that of a chow chow dog and suggesting they were separated at birth.
The campaign was relatively peaceful before the break. Party leaders were making policy announcements, posing for photos, and appeared to be avoiding mudslinging.
That could all change in the new year, especially with a new poll suggesting the Liberals and Conservatives have an equal chance at forming the next government.
The Decima Research survey found that the Liberals currently have the support of about 32 per cent of voters, compared to 30 per cent who say they will support the Conservatives.
The poll has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, leaving the two parties statistically tied.
The new Democrats currently have the support of 18 per cent of the 1,020 polled between Dec. 29 and Dec. 30. Fourteen per cent of those polled will vote for the Bloc Quebecois.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051229/ELXN_wrap_051231/20051231?s_name=election2006
An ad on the Conservative Party website describes the Liberal party as one that has been in power too long and is engulfed in scandal, then asks: "What message can you possible take to the people of Canada?"
The ad then flashes a clipping from The Globe and Mail that reads "PM plans negative campaign." The ad ends by encouraging voters to "do something positive," when they vote.
With only about three weeks before the election, and the Liberals and Conservatives in a virtual dead heat, many expect the election race to turn nasty when full campaigning resumes on January 2.
And both the Liberals and the Conservatives seem to have ammunition that developed over the Christmas break.
An RCMP investigation into allegations that vital information was leaked to Bay Street before a major government announcement has become a thorn in the Liberals' side.
And now the Conservatives are also on the defensive. Gordon Stamp, the campaign manager for Conservative Edmonton MP Peter Goldring, resigned after it was revealed he had written, "If the Liberals remain in power, we will be working on Alberta separation after January 23rd.''
That followed the resignation of a Liberal party executive who had slurred NDP candidate Olivia Chow, putting her picture above that of a chow chow dog and suggesting they were separated at birth.
The campaign was relatively peaceful before the break. Party leaders were making policy announcements, posing for photos, and appeared to be avoiding mudslinging.
That could all change in the new year, especially with a new poll suggesting the Liberals and Conservatives have an equal chance at forming the next government.
The Decima Research survey found that the Liberals currently have the support of about 32 per cent of voters, compared to 30 per cent who say they will support the Conservatives.
The poll has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, leaving the two parties statistically tied.
The new Democrats currently have the support of 18 per cent of the 1,020 polled between Dec. 29 and Dec. 30. Fourteen per cent of those polled will vote for the Bloc Quebecois.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051229/ELXN_wrap_051231/20051231?s_name=election2006