OTTAWA—With Hurricane Dorian slamming into Atlantic Canada, the New Democrat Party cancelled its planned campaign launch and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer called on all parties to freeze electioneering in the storm-pummelled region as they await the prime minister's decision to open the campaign period.

The Category 2 hurricane was set to make landfall near Halifax Saturday night, with gusts of wind reaching up to 150 kilometres per hour that toppled trees and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people.

In a statement on social media Friday night, Scheer said the Conservatives had suspended all campaign activity in Atlantic Canada as the hurricane made lashed New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. "We urge all other parties to do the same. Please take all proper precautions to stay safe during the storm," Scheer wrote.

The Liberals are also not holding any "formal campaign activities" in the affected region this weekend, party spokesperson Braeden Caley said in an email to the Star. "Our thoughts are with the resilient people of Atlantic Canada and their families at this time," he said.

With less than 45 days before the Oct. 21 election date, parties are poised in precampaign mode as they wait for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to open the official writ period.

The NDP had told media to prepare for Sunday, when party leader Jagmeet Singh was set to launch the campaign for the New Democrats whether the writ had been dropped or not. But on Saturday afternoon, in a campaign tour briefing for journalists at the NDP headquarters in Ottawa, the party's campaign director said the party's campaign launch plans would be delayed because of the storm.

"We had been talking about launching the campaign officially tomorrow," said Jennifer Howard. "Given the hurricane and the fact that it looks like it is getting more serious, we're going to delay that. I think that's where people's attention should be."

The Prime Minister's Office, too, was taking the storm into account when deciding to officially start the campaign, a source told the Star.

By early Saturday evening, the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Halifax was reporting wind gusts of up to 150 kilometres per hour. The storm was expected to weaken to a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds between 90 km/h and 120 km/h.

Nova Scotia Power reported more than 250,000 of its customers had lost power, including 140,000 in the Halifax area.

Earlier in the day, federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said in a statement that Nova Scotia had requested assistance to restore essential services and make sure the public is safe in the wake of the hurricane's damage. Goodale said government officials are working to co-ordinate assistance, including with support from the Canadian Armed Forces.

"Citizens can rest assured that we are doing everything we can to help support the response efforts throughout Atlantic Canada," Goodale said.

With files from The Canadian Press

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