He aimed to fire up West Coast supporters on Saturday with a campaign stop in Burnaby, sa国际传媒 and a later rally in Vancouver that drew an estimated 4,000 partisans.
On the way, Mulcair was asked repeatedly about what the NDP strategy would be if his party can鈥檛 form a government.
He insisted 鈥� as he has done from the outset 鈥� that his sole focus was to defeat the Conservatives.
鈥淢y job as leader of the New Democratic Party of sa国际传媒, is to take on Stephen Harper, to defeat him on Monday, Oct. 19, and replace him with an NDP government,鈥� Mulcair said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 my only priority between now and Monday.鈥�
One of the party鈥檚 elder statesmen, Stephen Lewis, delivered a firebrand speech at the rally, accusing Conservative Leader Stephen Harper of practising 鈥�10 dark years鈥� of politics and of creating deep racial divisions within the country in his stand against Muslim women wearing the niqab at citizenship ceremonies and in the federal civil service.
Harper has made the election 鈥渋rreversibly personal鈥� and Islamophobia the centrepiece of his campaign, Lewis said.
鈥淚t isn鈥檛 that it鈥檚 just unworthy of a prime minister; its actually when you think of it shocking, mortifying that a prime minister of sa国际传媒 would descend to such political depths in the lust to retain power.鈥�
The Conservatives have been lining up newspaper endorsements across with the Postmedia group being the latest to support Stephen Harper continuing as prime minister.
The Ottawa Citizen became the latest of the network鈥檚 publications to endorse the Conservatives in a Friday editorial, joining the Edmonton Journal, The Province, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, and at least five other papers.
Separately the Toronto Sun has also given the thumbs up, along with the Globe and Mail, which endorsed the Conservatives, but not Harper.
鈥淲hat a surprise! I鈥檓 shocked!鈥� Mulcair joked on Saturday.
鈥淲hat I do know is this: The same papers and the same pundits and the same observers and the same pollsters have been trying to spin the same story for far too long.鈥�
Referring to some of Postmedia鈥檚 ownership and the Conservatives, Mulcair said: 鈥淚 know they have their connections. I want the people in this riding to have their connection with an NDP government. We鈥檒l be their connection to power and to good decisions for them and their families in Ottawa.鈥�
He also repeated his message that the election remains a three-way race, and Canadian voters fed up with being forced to choose between either the Liberals and the Conservatives has another choice this time around.
鈥淭his time there is a three-way race; this time there is hope,鈥� Mulcair said. 鈥淭his time we will put in an NDP government.鈥�
Mulcair was also asked how long he thought would be appropriate for whichever party does achieve a plurality of seats Monday to wait before meeting Parliament.
He said the winner 鈥� him, of course 鈥� would have an obligation to do so 鈥渧ery rapidly.鈥�
Given that both the NDP and the Liberals have made it clear they would not support a Harper government, speculation has been rampant that a Conservative minority win would likely mean a long delay before the House of Commons resumed.
The resignation of Liberal campaign co-chair Dan Gagnier over advice he was giving to Transsa国际传媒 Pipeline over the Energy East project continued to provide fodder for the NDP.
鈥淭he fox is trying to get back into the hen house,鈥� Mulcair told his audience.
鈥淭he Liberals are convinced if they wait long enough they can hide the fact that the gang that brought you the sponsorship scandal is right back in the war room, right back on the campaign bus, right back in the campaign plane sitting right beside Justin Trudeau.鈥�
