OTTAWA – After debating foreign policy Monday night in Toronto, the three major party leaders return to the campaign trail today.
Conservative leader Stephen Harper will remain in the Toronto area to deliver a pair of speeches, starting at a housing development in Vaughan alongside candidate Julian Fantino.
The associate minister of national defence and former police chief has held the Vaughan riding for the Conservatives since winning a byelection there in 2010. Fantino is seeking re-election in the newly-created Vaughan-Woodbridge riding.
Harper will then bring his campaign to nearby Richmond Hill to speak at a convention centre accompanied by Defence Minister Jason Kenney, who is seeking re-election in a new Calgary riding.
Conservative Costas Menegakis won the Richmond Hill seat in 2011 by a narrow margin, but is seeking re-election in a new riding created through redistribution.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau starts off in Winnipeg, where polls suggest his party may pick up a few seats.
The Liberals lost two long-time bastions in recent elections to the Conservatives – Winnipeg South-Centre and St Boniface-St Vital. Helping the Liberal cause this time is the fact the NDP is polling poorly in Manitoba, possibly a reaction to the provincial NDP government raising taxes.
Trudeau will then head west to Richmond, B.C., to meet with local candidates and supporters.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair will head north to Nunavut and a riding currently held by Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq.
Mulcair, who will be visiting Iqaluit, has faced a challenge – as have all the party leaders – from the premier of Nunavut, Peter Taptuna, who has pressed for clarity on their northern policies.
The region faces some serious issues, such as high rates of teen suicide and unemployment.
Mulcair has already pushed his climate-change pledges, which he has noted are especially important for Arctic regions, where global warming is threatening the environment.
Green party Leader Elizabeth May will visit Sidney, B.C., to outline her party’s national dementia strategy. Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe will make three campaign stops in Montreal.
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