Editor's note: C-SPAN 13 will carry the debate live at 8 pm Eastern in the United States. Hopefully, your cable system goes up to C-SPAN 3.
Those looking to vote ABC (anyone but Conservative) still have a tough choice between the Liberals and the NDP. That tough choice is likely why the Conservatives still have a chance to form government after October 19.
You can look at a number of issues between the 2 major parties that aren't Conservative. Bill C-51, daycare subsidies, Quebec secession, appointing senators, and the latest in the Canadian election cycle: how to respond to an official recession in Canada.
In the campaign video above, Justin Trudeau makes the argument that austerity is not the answer. The NDP has actually gone to the right on the economy by promising a balanced budget in its first year of government.
Like the United States, Canada needs a lot of infrastructure improvements. Montréal's Champlain Bridge is the poster child for Canada's infrastructure issues. Both Mulcair and Trudeau represent ridings in the Montréal area. A new bridge is currently being built, but time and indecision forced funding just to avoid a serious disaster.
Borrowing rates are barely above zero, and the major parties have talked about infrastructure on some level.
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"Stephen Harper isn't perfect."
This isn't from an attack ad; this is actually from the Conservative Party. This commercial plays up Harper's leadership on the economy.
One gentleman talks about how Canada came out faster and stronger out of the major recession of 2008. Then again, it was the leadership of the Liberals and NDP and Bloc Quebecois that forced Harper to go against austerity measures that would have slowed that "faster and stronger" growth.
The "not-so-perfect" line could come from a candidate who has never been prime minister or from the candidate's mouth. Neither is true here. Harper has been in power for 9 years.
Even if you are pulling for the Conservative Party, this ad is pretty tone deaf.
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This new NDP ad doesn't play up the economy specifically (for a NDP ad that targets Harper's treatment of the economy, click here). But a lifetime of hard work and experience is what Mulclair offers to get Canadians back on their feet.
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The economy will be the topic of the second debate — the first in more than a month — Thursday at 8 pm Eastern. The 90-minute debate in Calgary is sponsored by the Globe and Mail newspaper and Google Canada.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May wasn't invited to this debate. The leaders of the 3 major parties will be there: Stephen Harper (Conservative), Tom Mulcair (NDP), and Justin Trudeau (Liberal).
Canadians can watch the debate on CPAC. The debate will be streamed live on The Globe and Mail Web site, and distributed on YouTube.
We are looking into whether C-SPAN will also carry this debate.
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The national polls talk about a 3-way split, though as we've learned in recent elections, if the 3-way split applies to key ridings, that makes more of a difference. Each major party is almost guaranteed a certain number of ridings, but they are fighting for the uncertain ridings. Though in this election, and with 30 new ridings, there will be many more uncertain ridings in this election.
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Peter Mansbridge did one-on-one interviews with the major party leaders for CBC's The National. In case you missed them or you want to send a link to a friend, click on the name below to watch the interviews.
These interviews are thorough, lasting about 30 minutes each. If you feel like you don't know a candidate, these interviews will help you figure that out, especially if the comparison is a 30-second attack ad.
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video credits: Liberal Party; Conservative Party; New Democratic Party
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