OTTAWA 鈥 Former prime minister Jean Chretien used his star power to endorse Liberal candidate Catherine McKenna on Saturday as the race in the riding of Ottawa Centre tightens.
Chretien visited McKenna鈥檚 local riding office along with a crowd of supporters in an effort to give the candidate one final boost before voters go to the polls on Oct. 21.
"I鈥檓 telling you that we will have a Liberal government on Monday," said Chretien in his distinctive boisterous tone. "We need more values like the ones we鈥檝e fought for all our lives."
In what felt like more of a re-elect Chretien rally, with spurts of cheering and applause, Canada鈥檚 20th prime minister spoke about the state of politics in Canada and why the Liberal party remains the most 鈥渇iscally responsible, and socially preoccupied.鈥
"We have to be realistic, we have to devise judgment. You know, we can be preoccupied with the environment and at the same time take the resources that God gave to us and that will be used for the world for some time."
McKenna walked into the rally, arm-in-arm with Chretien, touting her party鈥檚 climate plan and praising her campaign team.
"Last election you took a chance on me, and we won, and we have worked so hard, and we鈥檙e going to win again," said McKenna. "I鈥檝e committed that if I鈥檓 re-elected there will be more affordable housing, there will be more public transit, and there will be more climate action."
Before McKenna took office in 2015, Ottawa Centre had long been occupied by the NDP.
During an interview on CTV鈥檚 Power Play on Friday, CEO of Advanced Symbolics Erin Kelly, whose company uses artificial intelligence to make predictions about seat projections, said the Ottawa Centre riding will be one to watch as the NDP gains popularity.
"When the election started [McKenna] was strong in her riding and she was clearly going to win it," said Kelly. "Now we鈥檙e seeing the NDP coming up strongly, McKenna鈥檚 still in the lead, but she鈥檚 in trouble."
NDP candidate Emilie Taman was also out Saturday canvassing with volunteers and her father Larry, who鈥檚 been by her side since she first ventured into politics years ago as a candidate in another Ottawa region.
"She genuinely connects with people, she鈥檚 interested in them, she cares about them and I think people sense that," her father told CTVNews.ca. "Here in the riding, she鈥檚 demonstrated that over a long period of time."
Volunteers were told to focus on the NDP鈥檚 鈥渉ead-to-toe鈥 health-care plan as well as climate change on Saturday, the two issues that Taman said are of most concern for this riding. She said climate change is a topic her team can point to as McKenna鈥檚 weakness.
"That鈥檚 [McKenna鈥檚] biggest vulnerability. She鈥檚 part of the cabinet that bought a pipeline, while she was the minister of the environment," said Taman. "People in a riding like this notice that."
Taman was interrupted by a resident who said she had to vote with her 鈥渃onscience this time around,鈥 which meant voting Green, but not because she doesn鈥檛 鈥渟upport the NDP.鈥
Taman said support for the Greens had dropped in the region. Taman also said there鈥檚 been an instrumental shift within the last three weeks around the sentiment of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.
"It鈥檚 fascinating to feel it on the ground. In the summer people were saying 鈥業鈥檓 just not sure about your leader,鈥" said Taman. "Low and behold as people have had the opportunity to get to know him more, they鈥檙e seeing that."
Just a few streets down from the New Democrats canvas team, the Conservative base under the leadership of candidate Carole Clemenhagen, was mobilizing. Their plan on the last Saturday of the campaign is to 鈥渓isten.鈥
"We really want to hear what the voters鈥 top of mind issue is," Clemenhagen told CTVNews.ca. "The issues that have really struck me have had to do with affordability questions."
Passing over houses with Liberal and NDP signs, Clemenhagen says her team鈥檚 approach now is to focus on the houses they know are still undecided and who have concerns with the incumbent party.
"There has been questioning of her [McKenna鈥檚]absence on local issues. There are a lot of things here in Ottawa Centre that people are concerned about and the federal MP seems to be preoccupied or just not involved."
The Conservative candidate added that she hears mixed reviews from voters about the party鈥檚 leader Andrew Scheer.
"Some people are very enthusiastic supporters, and really like his personality and where he comes from. He鈥檚 an ordinary guy; he鈥檚 like the guy who lives next door, that鈥檚 very appealing. Then certainly there are other people who haven鈥檛 quite got a feel for him."
Each candidates鈥 leader is doing their own fair share of campaigning today. Trudeau and Scheer are spending part of their day in Ontario, while Singh stays put on the West Coast.
