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Byelection attack ads a sign of things to come for 2015 federal election

The Harper Conservatives are facing some criticism for their latest anti-Liberal attack ads.

As explained by the Canadian Press, the Tory campaign machine has dropped leaflets to homes in Scarborough-Agincourt, one of four ridings with June 30th byelections.

On one side of the ad, are pictures of a smirking Justin Trudeau and a young boy with cigarette in his mouth. On the other side is a picture of outgoing Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis with a quote of his that reads: "This is not the same Liberal party we knew. The party has changed."

Karygiannis says the quote misrepresents why he left federal politics

"This is an all-time low for the Conservatives," he told CP.

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Of the four June 30th byelections, the two in Alberta — Fort McMurray-Athabasca and Macleod — should easily stay Conservative blue.

The third byelection in Trinity Spadina — Olivia Chow's old riding — is pegged as a tight battle between Liberal candidate Adam Vaughan and the New Democrat 's Joe Cressey.

But in Scarborough-Agincourt the Tories believe they have a shot to gain a seat.

The campaign is also a good dry run for the next general election in 2015.

Scarbourough-Agincourt is somewhat a microcosm of the types of ridings that the Tories will need to win in 2015 in order to keep their majority government — a suburban middle-class electoral district with a sizable ethnic population.

"This is a preview of what's to come in 2015," political communications consultant Gerry Nicholls told Yahoo Canada News.

" The Conservatives will use every weapon at their disposal to degrade the "Trudeau brand" as will, by the way, the NDP.

"I'm not sure Trudeau's stance on marijuana will be one of their "key" attacks, but it will definitely be in the mix, as it's an issue that might spook middle class suburban voters."

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One population segment where the marijuana issue will be the "key attack" is in the ethnic media.

A popular Indo-Canadian talk show host recently told Yahoo Canada News that those types of attacks could work.

"Trudeau keeps shooting himself in the foot with ideas...[that] wants to legalize marijuana," Radio India talk show host Umendra Singh said.

"Ethnic communities are very conservative when it comes to things like drugs."

The Tories have also have other anti-Trudeau themes up their sleeves.

Here's a capture of another recent ad.

All signs point to more nastiness in 2015.

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