The NDP began airing four new ads this week, closing in on the home stretch. The two spots above, "Ontarians Know" and "Affordable", were released Wednesday, along with another english language ad, " Both ". There are even ads in Mandarin and Cantonese . Previously on Canuckistan , I laid out several prospective NDP tactics for the final weeks of the campaign. I believe that these three elements could lead to an historic breakthrough: Paint the Liberals and Conservativ...

Slow news day. Check these out . Oh yeah, there was this .

A truly phenomenal political commercial , courtesy of the Liberal Party of Canada . Sweet Jesus, is this ad terrifying! Do not misunderstand. It's a sleek, professional spot. It has every component of a crushing body blow. It's delivery is high art. But this thirty second montage of reeling, staccato visuals leaves the viewer thinking that whoever conceived it must be as evil as the monster it describes: Fade in, bleery sunlight. VOICE: Stephen Harper would ha...

This morning, journalists asking questions about same-sex marriage were heckled by Stephen Harper supporters present at a Brampton, Ontario campaign stop. As Harper did little to shutdown the jeering crowd, he was -- himself -- eventually chastised by a frustrated scribes. You can see most of the press conference here , on the Thursday morning edition of Politics with Don Newman .

I've previously discussed how New Democrats can leverage public distrust of the Earnscliffe Party to bolster their own credibility. In the past two days, however, polls have shown a creeping Conservative advance -- even the possibility of a Conservative minority government. While Stephen Harper makes gains amongst centrists, fear of a Tory resurgence may send scared New Democrats back to the Grits. A change in equilibrium requires a change in stratagem. The NDP can still gain...

We'll have to see how they play, can't tell from here : "'Both Paul Martin and Stephen Harper want to bring Canada closer to George Bush,' the female voice-over says. 'But Jack Layton thinks we can be good neighbours while still maintaining our values and independence...'" "'Both Paul Martin and Stephen Harper want Canada to have more private health care,' the voice-over says. 'Jack Layton believes in improving public health care with innovation, not privatization.'" ...

That's what I Iike to see: "Today I'm announcing a [tax] package of four practical steps that will help middle class and working families to make ends meet." "Unlike the other parties, we'll do it without breaking the bank or undermining healthcare, education or the environment -- and all within a balance budget." Jack Layton is reframing the central question of this election. What kind of change do Canadians want: the Conservatives, or just not the Liberals? While t...

Originally shot for This Hour Has 22 Minutes , this hilarious Ed Broadbent video was never aired: Real Video » Quicktime » Windows Media » The producers of 22 Minutes felt it was too 'pro-Ed'.

Good God : "Conservative values are Canadian values." This from the man who said that a "silent majority" of Canadians supported the War in Iraq. BTW -- the Conservative platform includes $58 billion in spending and $29 billion for the contingency debt reduction fund. This brings the total platform cost to $87 billion, not just fifty eight. Stephen Harper admitted last week that some of his promises, like aircraft carriers, can't be paid for within his own spending es...

In honour of Paul Martin's jarring leftward turn , I'm revisiting... Hypothetical NDP Ads: Paul Martin's platform cries out for the shamelessly thievery of one of Ralph Nader best ideas -- the Mastercard political commercial: Smiling pictures of a young, circa 1993, Paul Martin. VOICE OVER & CHYRON: Eliminate the GST, 1993 Red Book: $28 billion. Smiling pictures of a young, circa 1997, Paul Martin. VOICE OVER & CHYRON: Universal Child Care, 1997 Red Book: $5 ...

Qurious Quote : "Screw the Red Book... Don't tell me what's in the Red Book. I wrote the God-damned thing. And I know that it's a lot of crap." --Paul Martin

Paul Martin -- king, lord and saviour of conservative Liberals -- released his party's pseudo-progressive platform today: "Liberal Leader Paul Martin tried to push the focus of an attack-filled election campaign back toward policy Thursday, unveiling a left-leaning platform that focuses on social program spending." This was, I believe, a fatal error in judgement. Pundits will claim that Martin is shoring up his left flank while putting enough distance between himself an...

An alarming trend has developed in Paul Martin's floundering election campaign: the head of our responsible government refuses to take responsibility for just about anything . As we know, two Liberal cabinet ministers staged guerilla political events this week to attack Stephen Harper on budget and social issues. Today, Paul Martin claimed to have had no prior knowledge of the events. But tonight on Primetime Politics , head Liberal politico David Herle admitted that he not onl...

Tonight I saw the first half hour of The National 's Your Say with Jack Layton . It was a good performance. Layton didn't pretend to have all the easy answers, instead he engaged in a real discussion with the audience. That bought him the kind of credibility that a list of promises alone couldn't. The issue that kept him from a truly great performance, however, was taxes. Oddly, though, it wasn't even his position on taxes that hurt him. Layton failed to turn the issue to his ...

Here at Canuckistan we are going have to seriously consider a policy of limiting our coverage of polls, as I believe we're focusing too much on the horserace. However, like the CBC, we will likely break that promise as fast as having made it. Should, on the other hand, support for the NDP begin to falter, our polling coverage will decrease proportionately. But that day is not today! From SES : As of May 31st: Party Support Liberal ...