"Obviously we'd like to wait a little longer, but we'll be ready to go if it's sooner rather than later," NDP candidate Wendy Robinson, the mayor of Stewiacke, said Friday. "It's better for us if the election call doesn't come this weekend, but we're in a good place and are ready to go."
There has been speculation Prime Minister Stephen Harper will visit the governor-general on Sunday dissolving parliament and setting the stage for an Oct. 19 federal election. The date has been set under the Harper government's fixed election law.
Sitting MP, Conservative Scott Armstrong, said he knows nothing of the prime minister's intentions, but has his team in place in both ends of the riding for a long, or a short campaign.
"All I know is the end date, Oct. 19, and until the writ drops we're just going to keep progressing. As member of parliament I'll keep doing my job until the election is called," Armstrong said.
Liberal Bill Casey would not be surprised if the election were called this weekend considering the millions of dollars the government has been announcing across the riding in recent weeks.
While he appreciates the investment, he said, the Conservatives are simply buying votes by increasing the federal debt - something Canadians will continue to pay off for generations.
Casey, a former Conservative and Independent MP, said it's ridiculous to force a lengthy U.S.-style campaign on Canadian voters, one that will cost millions of dollars to hold.
"It doesn't do anyone any good to have a long election campaign, there's no point in it," said Casey, who quickly added his team is ready and has been in campaign mode since he received the Liberal nomination several months ago. "Everyone knows the candidates, everyone knows the parties and the leaders. We don't need this long a campaign, it's just going to cost millions of dollars that don't need to be spent. But, if they call it we'll be ready."
It's believed Jason Blanch of Amherst will again be running for the Green Party. It's not known if the Christian Heritage Party will be running a candidate in the riding.
Twitter: @ADNdarrell
