by Christopher Guly
OTTAWA, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- In the first of three televised leaders' debates during the Canadian election campaign on Thursday night, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was put on the defensive by his political opponents for calling an early national vote amid a pandemic.
An election is needed now to allow Canadians to "weigh in on how we will end this pandemic" and "choose how we finish this," said Trudeau, who positioned his governing Liberal Party as best suited to continue the work it has done, particularly in obtaining enough vaccines for everyone eligible to receive a dose in the country.
The three opposition leaders who participated in the debate accused Trudeau of being opportunistic and reckless in calling an election two years before he was required to do so under a fixed-election-date law.
Conservative Party Leader Erin O'Toole, whose party served as the official opposition in the last parliament, said that Canadians should not be heading to the polls on Sept. 20 during a COVID-19 health crisis that is entering its fourth wave in parts of the country, along with forest fires ravaging Canada's west coast and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, where 1,250 Canadians await extrication from their government.
At a news conference following the two-hour debate in Montreal, Trudeau said that there are "very, very different perspectives among the different parties on how we make sure we end this fight against COVID."
He singled out O'Toole and his opposition to mandatory vaccination for travelers, which Trudeau's Liberal government has imposed. The Conservative leader would rather do rapid tests on people who are unvaccinated rather than force them to get a shot.
This week, the global research firm Ipsos released the results of a survey that found the Conservatives would receive 32 percent of the national popular vote, or a point ahead of the Liberals at 31 percent. That could result in a minority government for either the Liberals, which they formed following the 2019 election, or the Conservatives.
Trudeau's Liberals were hoping to repeat their majority win from 2015 for a third mandate in government. An Ipsos poll conducted in June found the party holding a clear lead at 38 percent support, with the Conservatives behind by 12 points at 26 percent.
But as with any Canadian election, fortunes can change throughout a campaign, and the incumbent prime minister will have an opportunity to pitch voters again next week when he and the other major party leaders participate in two more televised debates. Enditem
