On final campaign day, leaders make closing arguments and target key seats

On the last day of the federal election campaign, the major federal party leaders are making their closing arguments to voters and stumping in some of the most competitive regions in the country.

Each leader has spent the past 36 days attempting to sway hearts and minds. Now there are just hours remaining before polls open and they are left to await the judgment of voters.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who began the election with a short walk to Rideau Hall on Aug. 15, kicked off its final day with an event in Montreal and is expected to touch down in several provinces before tomorrow. He was not expected to speak with reporters.

Riding high in pre-election polls, Trudeau began the campaign by saying Canadians deserved a say in how Canada would recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In this pivotal, consequential moment, who wouldn't want a say? Who wouldn't want their chance to help decide where our country goes from here?" he said outside Rideau Hall.

But as that initial lead evaporated and the campaign developed, the Liberals' message morphed into a mix of asking voters whom they trust to end the pandemic in the first place and a series of attacks against the Conservatives on climate, guns and vaccine policy.

"Because my friends, Canada is today at a crossroads, at a moment where we have to make a really important choice," Trudeau said at a rally Sunday, "not just about what we're going to do in the coming months to end this pandemic for good, but also how we're going to stay true to our values and meet the challenges of the future with the same level of ambition and devotion to each other that we showed as Canadians every day through the past 18 months."