OTTAWA - Canadians will elect their prime minister and government Tuesday after 37 days of campaigning and hurried, last-minute pitches from the major party leaders.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal Leader Stephane Dion sprinted across the country Monday, trying to shake any loose votes in their direction. Speaking at a rally in P.E.I., Harper said the party needs every seat it can get, and urged supporters not be complacent by counting on a victory.
The last poll of the campaign by The Canadian Press Harris-Decima suggested the Conservatives were headed toward a second straight minority government.
But pollsters and pundits are at odds on how election night will play out in Ontario, which is home to a third of the 308 ridings up for grabs.
As the campaign wound down, Harper continued to push a familiar message: the Liberal carbon-tax plan is irresponsible in a time of economic uncertainty.
Dion implored Quebecers to vote Liberal instead of Bloc Quebecois in a bid to replace the Conservatives instead of merely stopping them.
The Liberal leader - who has accused the Tories of misrepresenting his Green Shift plan - is expected to cast his ballot in his home riding of St-Laurent-Cartierville in the evening.
Meanwhile, Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe, who is preparing to cast his ballot in a Montreal-area riding, said he doesn't think a third minority government in four years will escalate tensions between Ottawa and Quebec.
Jack Layton of the NDP maintained Monday he's running to win government, despite a final polling snapshot suggesting his party is racing towards a third-place finish.
Layton plans to cast his ballot alongside his wife, Olivia Chow, in Toronto.
Elizabeth May of the Green party will watch the election results roll from her campaign headquarters in New Glasgow, where she hopes to unseat Tory cabinet minister Peter MacKay.
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