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The same cannot be said for the government’s record on democracy, ethics and accountability. In its often contemptuous treatment of Parliament, in its stormy relations with the judiciary, in its bullying of civil servants and, yes, in its barracking of the media, it has shown not only an intolerance of dissent but a basic lack of understanding of the limits of its own power.

Likewise, the obsessive secrecy, the reflexive duplicity and the reduction of political discourse to the coarsest recitation of talking points and attack lines reveal a troubling win-at-all-costs attitude. That the Conservatives appear to be trailing in the race, notwithstanding a defensible record in other respects, has a lot to do with their governing style and approach to politics.

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Here the news is surprisingly good. The country would appear to be headed for a hung Parliament, with no certainty as to which of the leaders will emerge as prime minister. Yet no sense of crisis hangs over the campaign. Partisans aside, most Canadians appear relatively comfortable that any of the three could be trusted to credibly run the country. Canada is not saddled with a Donald Trump or a Jeremy Corbyn.

That wasn’t necessarily the case when the election was called on Aug. 2, or in the months beforehand, when the Conservatives appeared to have struck a vein of public doubt with their effort to label Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau “just not ready.” Trudeau’s strong campaign performance appears to have reduced that concern to the point his Liberals have climbed from last place at the start of the campaign into a growing lead in the polls.