The longest Canadian election campaign since the Victorian age began on Sunday, when prime minister Stephen Harper announced the country would go to the polls 78 days from now, on 19 October.



Warning about an “uncertain and unstable” economy, as well as the threat of a “violent global jihadist movement”, Harper appealed to Canadians to extend his nine-year stint in power by another four.

“This is no time for risky plans that could harm our future,” he said. “It is time to stay the course and stick to our plan.”

The election call comes in the midst of more ominous news for the Canadian economy, which has stalled in the aftermath of the world oil price collapse and appears to be in recession.

Figures released this week showed that Canadian GDP shrank for a fifth month in a row in May, and the Canadian dollar has dropped to 77 US cents as oil companies have laid off thousands of workers and manufacturers continue to sputter.

In their responses to the election call, both opposition leaders focused on the need to end Conservative fiscal austerity.

“We will kick start the economy and get Canadians back to work,” said Thomas Mulcair of the centre-left New Democratic Party. “This is our No 1 priority.”

He added: “Wages are falling, incomes are stagnant and household debt is skyrocketing. Middle-class families are working harder than ever but can’t get ahead.”

Speaking in Vancouver, Justin Trudeau, leader of the third-place Liberal Party, echoed Mulcair’s concerns.

“If people want change in this country, it is because the economy is not working for them,” he said, claiming Harper’s economic plan had failed. “You want change that works for you.”

In addition to a slump that has damaged his reputation as an economic manager, Harper will fight his fifth campaign without the help of several key ministers who left the Tory front benches in the months prior to the election call. Polls show that only about 30% of Canadians intend to vote for the government, compared to roughly the same for the New Democrats and 26% for the Liberals.

But the Conservatives enjoy the advantage of a divided opposition, which ensured their victory in 2011, and Harper is by far the most successful street fighter in Canadian politics, having survived hung parliaments and opposition coalitions with unerring tactical skill and fierce discipline.

New Democratic Party leader Tom Mulcair said: ‘We will kick-start the economy and get Canadians back to work.’ Photograph: Adrian Wyld/AP

His party’s brutal attacks on Trudeau, mocking the untested Liberal as an ingenue who is “just not ready” for office, have almost certainly contributed to a precipitate drop in Trudeau’s popularity and the rise of the more experienced Mulcair, a former Quebec cabinet minister.

The Conservatives had planned to campaign on their promise to achieve a balanced budget in 2015, a goal it now appears they are unlikely to reach. In the weeks before the election call they turned to spending, beginning with a childcare bonus that was described as “Christmas in July” by Conservative minister Pierre Poilievre.

Since then the government has distributed more than $1bn in grants, according to Canadian media, with a large majority of the cash going to ridings (electoral districts) held by Tory MPs.

Although both opposition parties are eager to blame Harper for the country’s economic distress, economic management is generally considered a Conservative strength. By emphasizing stability and continuity, the prime minister is hoping Canadians will trust him to solve the crisis his policies are said to have caused.