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Federal parties release ads months ahead of expected election

Federal parties release ads months ahead of expected election

What’s a better sign of a forthcoming election campaign than an attack ad or two? In the past few days all three main parties — the Conservatives, NDP and Liberals — have released ads, giving some glimpses into campaign strategies and messaging to come.

The Liberal Party’s advertisement takes clear aim at the Conservatives, reminding viewers of a single day of government and PC mistakes and missteps that occured May 7, 2015 (an ad which has some marked similarities to a recent Andrew Coyne column in the National Post). The ghosts of an omnibus budget bill, a government’s “vanity” video that showed faces of special forces soldiers and Mike Duffy’s past being put on display in court haunt the Conservatives’ present.

The Conservative Party’s ad is all about Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. It’s a more moderate attack against Trudeau than they’ve done before. But there’s no mention of the NDP or Mulcair, suggesting the Liberals and their leader are the real target for the Conservatives.

In the video, a table of pleasant looking actors sift through resumes and pick out the CV from the one and only Justin Trudeau. They go through his qualifications and ream off lines regular watchers of the House of Commons might be familiar with: “Didn’t he say budgets balance themselves?”

The NDP holds off the attack and presnets a collection of broad messages on key Canadian areas of concern: the middle class, the economy and the environment. Party leader Tom Mulcair ends the short ad by talking about his middle class background and how New Democrats want to bring change to Ottawa.

Over the past while the NDP has seen an uptick in support. Recent EKOS and Forum polls put the New Democrats, the Conservatives and Liberals in a three-way tie. And so the NDP, aware that many Canadians aren’t so familliar with their leader, have decided to show Mulcair’s softer side.