Roundup: Canada's election campaign enters crucial stage

Canada's election campaign entered the crucial second stage Monday as party leaders hit the hustings again with stepped-up advertising and a faster campaigning pace.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper maintained his momentum by showing up the first, outlining the top priorities of a Tory government early in the morning.

The party's top five priorities are cleaning up government, cutting the Goods and Service tax, cracking down on crime, increasing financial assistance for parents and improve health care, Harper said at a rally in Ottawa.

Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Paul Martin made a campaign stop at a bagel shop in Ottawa, stressing that "there is a very, very different perspective on what is the role of government" between himself and Conservative Stephen Harper. He also said he would liven up the campaign by announcing new initiative policies and base his agenda on what his government has achieved during an interview earlier.

New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton, who is also in Ottawa with area party candidates, urged Canadians to resolve to change the political landscape by voting for his party.

The fifth largest party Green Party leader Jim Harris also unveiled an election platform in Ottawa which would amend the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, address environmental issues and make government accountability a priority.

The second half of the campaign is expected to be more intense as a new poll suggested the Conservatives edging ahead of the Liberals in support for the first time.

Thirty-three percent of voters would cast their ballots for the Conservatives, up one point from a week ago, while 32 percent would vote Liberal, down one point, according to the poll by Ipsos- Reid for CanWest News Service and Global National released Monday.

In the key battleground of seat-rich Ontario, the Liberals have fallen four points to 36 percent, giving the Conservatives, who remained at 38 percent, the edge.

Nationally, the NDP have the support of 18 percent, the Green party support remains unchanged at five percent.

The survey raised the prospect of a Conservative minority although only two weeks ago, the Conservatives were nine points behind the Liberals, Ipsos-Reid president Darrell Bricker said.

The catch-up likely reflects the impact of the string of scandals and campaign missteps by the Liberals, including the confirmation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that it is conducting a criminal investigation into a possible leak of information on the government's income trust decision.

Prime Minister Paul Martin's communications chief Scott Reid also landed the Liberals in hot water for comments suggesting that if parents were given money for child care, as proposed by the Conservatives, some would spend it on popcorn and beer, and a senior Liberal official resigned after the revelation of a tasteless blog attack on NDP candidate Olivia Chow.

The Liberals were toppled by a banded effort of three opposition parties on Nov. 28 over a corruption scandal in which kickbacks went to senior Liberals in a unity promotion program. The Liberals have been in power for a consecutive 12 years.

The voting will take place on Jan. 23.

Source: Xinhua