O'Toole pitches election as a referendum on Trudeau, Liberal leader targets Conservatives on vaccines

As the polls tighten, and with time running out, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole sharpened his attacks on the campaign trail today by calling on voters to make election day a referendum on his primary opponent.

According to CBC's Poll Tracker, the Liberals have moved ahead of the Conservatives in national support for the first time in more than two weeks, but only by a marginal amount. With election day just one week away, and with advance voting wrapping up Monday evening, there is little time left to win over voters. O'Toole used this morning's announcement in Carp, Ont., just west of Ottawa, to frame a ballot box question on Trudeau's leadership and record. O'Toole was there to make an announcement on maternity and parental leave. He dedicated most of his prepared remarks to a verbal assault on Trudeau — attacking his role in the SNC-Lavalin affair, his handling of Indigenous issues and his decision to call an election during a fourth wave of the pandemic as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban. "Every Canadian has met a Justin Trudeau in their lives — privileged, entitled and always looking out for number one. He was looking out for number one when he called this expensive and unnecessary election in the middle of a pandemic," he said. "That's not leadership, that's self interest. And it's Justin Trudeau through and through."