Canada Elections 2015: PM Stephen Harper Fighting for Fourth Term

The Canadian federal elections, formally known as the 42^nd Canadian general election, will be held on Monday, October 19.

Canadians vote to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada.

Incumbent Conservative PM Stephen Harper is fighting for a rare fourth term but the frontrunner is Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, son of late PM Pierre Trudeau.

The performance of the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) could also be decisive, analysts say.

Opinion polls have suggested many people are still undecided.

On October 18, party leaders made their final pitch for votes after one of the longest and possibly closest election campaign in Canada’s history, criss-crossing the country to try to sway undecided voters.

Stephen Harper, 56, is selling himself as the steady hand who can steer Canada’s troubled economy back on track.

His campaign has run TV advertisements saying that Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, 43, is “just not ready” to take office.

Justin Trudeau started the race in third place but the Liberals took the lead in opinion polls in a late surge.

The Liberal leader is promising change, and investment over austerity.

Although he supports the fight against Islamic State (ISIS), he believes Canada should stop air strikes in Syria and Iraq, and focus on training local forces on the ground.

Justin Trudeau’s father, Pierre, is considered the father of modern Canada.

NDP leader Tom Mulcair, 60, is hoping to build on his party’s second-place finish in the 2011 elections.

However, support for the NDP appeared to have fallen in recent weeks.

An opinion poll released on October 18 showed the Liberals on 37.3%, seven points ahead of the Conservatives at 30.5%. The NDP had 22.1% according to the Nanos survey taken on October 15 to 17. The margin of error was 2.2%.