VANCOUVER - NDP Leader Jack Layton is putting on a brave face.
Even the most mundane of election campaigns is hard on the politicians, who put in 18-hour days of travelling, hand-shaking, small talk and strategizing for five weeks in a row.
Despite recent hip surgery and a battle with prostate cancer, Layton is criss-crossing the country, attending rallies, shaking hands, kissing babies, pumping up the crowds.
But he's hobbling. His staff stays close by to make sure no one jostles him, as he walks using a heavy black cane. Despite the twinkle in his eye, he's moving slowly and stiffly, his face gaunt. And his handlers have made it clear they don't want pictures of him limping up the stairs to the campaign plane.
Can he keep it up for the remaining 34 days of the campaign? His staff insist that of course he can. But they've also recognized that the only way Layton can convince voters he's in good enough shape to lead the federal NDP is for Layton to show them himself.
So far, he has pulled it off, with more than a little help from his natural charisma.
He's drawing large crowds of supporters who don't hesitate to show him the love. He whips them into a frenzy with talk of Stephen Harper's scandals and criticism of the Harmonized Sales Tax, and the need for better health care.
"HST is the first (concern)," said Jaspreet Randhawa, whose family owns a fruit and vegetable store in Surrey, B.C. "We don't want it. It affects our business."
Layton visited the store as part of his campaign to win the Surrey North seat from the Conservatives. Ms. Randhawa's three-year-old niece, Ishnoor, presented Layton with a bouquet of flowers. He chatted with her, looking her straight in the eye, and she blew him a little kiss as he left.
The NDP is leading an aggressive campaign in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, tussling with Conservatives and occasionally Liberals to win volatile seats.
Layton went into the campaign with nine NDP seats that are being eyed closely by the Conservatives.
The NDP believes the HST issue is the key to maintaining those seats and winning more. A populist outcry about the tax last year contributed to the abrupt resignation of Liberal premier Gordon Campbell.
Layton takes every opportunity to remind British Columbians how much they hate the tax, and then blames it on Harper and the Conservative MPs who supported federal legislation that enabled the province to implement the tax.
"After the HST fiasco, I would say that British Columbians are ready to send the Ottawa Conservatives a message and kick Stephen Harper out of office," Layton told a morning rally in Surrey.
The first two days of campaigning have gone off without a hitch. The crowds are large, the program well planned, the message repetitive and clear. Layton has stuck closely to his script, and only waded into the bitter dispute about coalition governments when asked by the media to respond.
The party is focusing its efforts on seats where they came a close second place in the last election - mainly Tory seats. Layton mentions Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff in his stump speech, but most of his barbs are directed at Harper.
All three parties are going head-to-head in suburban ridings where the electorate is ethnically diverse.
Despite the Conservatives making a big deal about the inroads they've made recently, the NDP believes Tory support among ethnic communities is not deep.
"My sense is, the Conservatives tried, but it's only been very much on the surface," said New Democrat Peter Julian who is running for re-election in the diverse riding of Burnaby-New Westminster.
New Canadians have not seen much change in their lives since Harper came to power in 2004, and they are frustrated with not being able to receive family visitors from their home countries, Julian said.
Layton is in Regina and Moose Jaw, Sask., on Monday, targeting the ridings of Regina-Qu'Appelle and Palliser, both of which voted in Conservatives the last time around. For now, the NDP does not have a single seat in that province, despite it being a traditional NDP stronghold.
