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| NDP leader Tom Mulcair in Châteauguay, Quebec last night. |
It was a frantic day on the campaign trail yesterday for Tom Mulcair, as the NDP leader made several stops in key battleground ridings one day before the Canadian election. Mulcair, leader of the Official Opposition before the dissolution of the last parliament, spent the first part of his day making appearances in several Toronto locations, in an attempt to stave off what is appearing to be a growing Liberal tide.
The 60 year old Ottawa native then moved on to Quebec, where in 2011 the NDP, then under the late Jack Layton's leadership, rode to unprecedented heights in what came to be known as the Orange Crush. However, despite leading in the polls early on in the current campaign, Mulcair and the NDP faithful could very well be looking at a third place finish on Monday, as Justin Trudeau's Liberals have surged in the polls, and Conservative leader Stephen Harper has resorted to reaching out to former Toronto mayor Rob Ford for help.
Mulcair held his last large campain rally in the heart of Montreal on Sunday night, but afterwards kept a promise to a local candidate in the Greater Montreal riding of Châteauguay - Lacolle. Mulcair and incumbent MP Sylvain Chicoine held a small gathering outside a local café, where Mulcair repeated his election talking points. However, in the midst of describing his plan to consistently keep balanced budgets, an unexpected visitor interrupted the proceedings, as local legend Châteauguay Charles, a 12-year-old groundhog, emerged from Mulcair's beard and, by all accounts, made it quite clear that Monday's election results would not be kind to the NDP. After gingerly climbing down Mulcair's left jacket-sleeve, Charles scurried along a nearby sidewalk, where autumn leaves had fallen beside a trash can. The mercurial woodchuck first approached an orange leaf, curiously sniffing at it for two minutes, which is impressive considering a marmot's short attention span. However, he then noticed a discarded, peeled-off Labatt's Blue label - clearly a Conservative party omen - and proceeded to lick it for several moments before moving on. In the end, though, a bright, glorious red leaf received the affections of the creature. Those gathered watched in horror as Châteauguay Charles picked up the leaf with his left claw, stood up on his hind legs, and proceeded to wave to the crowd before scurrying off into the night. Charles prognostications of a third-place NDP finish sent those gathered into a nearby pub to drown their sorrows.
From Our Montreal Bureau
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