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But will the thinking shift in an election that is perceived to be much closer, a pre-campaign that is stretching out for months?

Clinton’s campaign, which appeared to have adopted a similar strategy of limited media access, said this week it would ease up. Unfavourable comparisons have been made between her and more accessible rivals, including Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republican Jeb Bush.

Kory Teneycke, the Conservative campaign spokesman, did not respond to a request for comment.

Yaroslav Baran, a former Conservative campaign communications aide, said the modus operandi all depends on the particular alchemy of a campaign.

An underdog might seek out media attention as much as possible to gain more visibility. Frontrunners will traditionally do everything possible to limit the potential for mistakes, to protect their lead.

Baran says the trick is avoiding the extremes.

“You never want to totally expose your candidate, and the opposite extreme, you don’t want to be so closed as to be hostile. That’s not usually a winning strategy,” said Baran, a principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group.

“Journalists are professionals, yeah, but you’re not doing yourself any favours if the people writing about you subconsciously think that you hate them.”

Harper is hardly alone in giving a great deal of thought to communications, in what has become an era of the “permanent campaign” and the aggressive 24/7 news environment.