TORONO—New Democrats have released an election platform geared specifically to Toronto and its surrounding suburbs, a vote-rich region of the country that could determine who wins Oct. 19.

The platform, entitled “Building a Better Toronto,” is based on the NDP’s national platform, but highlights the policies the party believes will most resonate with Torontonians.

“This great city, with the surrounding municipalities that make up the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), is the economic engine of our country,” Toronto NDP incumbent Peggy Nash said in a news release Friday.

“We need a government in Ottawa that understands that.”

The platform takes some of the promises from the NDP’s national platform and breaks down what it would mean for Toronto.

For instance, it promises $12.9 billion over 20 years for Toronto transit infrastructure. And it promises to create 165,000 $15-a-day child care spaces in the city.

It also highlights promises to reverse health care cuts, create a cap-and-trade system to fight climate change, support arts and culture, make post-secondary education more accessible, reduce the backlog in immigration applications and repeal the Conservative government’s controversial anti-terrorism law.

“Ours is an ambitious, progressive plan for a better future, building a city that is greener, fairer and a better place to live for all of us,” Andrew Cash, another NDP incumbent in Toronto, says in the release.

The New Democrats know the Liberals are the biggest threat to their fortunes in Toronto, so they are ramping up efforts to convince its undecided voters they have the best plan for the city.

“We’ve got a huge part of the economy here and a huge population here and we have to get it right here,” said Cash, who is running for re-election in the downtown riding of Davenport, said Thursday.

“If we get this right here, we can get this right everywhere,” Cash said

“The success of our cities is vital to our national interest. There is no greater urban centre in this country than the City of Toronto and its surrounding municipalities. We need a government in Ottawa that understands that,” NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair writes in a letter introducing the “Building a Better Toronto” document, which is coming out before the NDP releases its national platform.

“It’s time to think big again, to be bold again, to reach higher,” Mulcair writes.

The New Democrats won seven Toronto seats in 2011, but lost Trinity-Spadina to the Liberals in a 2014 byelection, and will need to hold and increase that result in the Oct. 19 election to have any chance at forming the government.

The NDP believes there are enough voters in the GTA who want the Conservative government out of office, but their challenge in the city and surrounding suburbs remains convincing voters that Mulcair, and not Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, is the one who can pull off a victory.

So, in selling its vision for Toronto, the NDP will also continue building its narrative that Mulcair, a former Quebec Liberal environment minister, has more of the experience needed to be prime minister than Trudeau, and that Trudeau voted in favour of the Anti-terrorism Act (Bill C-51).

The NDP also plans to keep pointing out that the Liberal fiscal plan released last weekend involves $6.5 billion in savings over four years, including $3 billion a year by fiscal 2019-20.

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The NDP argues these savings would mean cuts to programming, but the Liberals have said they would find the money from items such as government advertising, boutique tax credits and using external consultants.

The NDP continues to have high hopes for Linda McQuaig in Toronto Centre and Jennifer Hollett in University-Rosedale, where Liberal Chrystia Freeland is running for re-election, and also think they could pick up Brampton East, where the NDP is running Harb Kahlon against Conservative Naval Bajaj and Liberal Raj Grewal.

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