Liberals are hoping to keep their hold on four ridings Monday in what could be a key test for Stephane Dion, as byelections are held in Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.
Three of the four ridings are traditional Liberal strongholds. Two ridings in Toronto were represented by former Liberal cabinet ministers, while Vancouver Quadra was the one-time riding of former prime minister John Turner.
The Saskatchewan riding of Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River is considered to be the least predictable, as the Liberals only took that seat by 67 votes in the 2006 federal election.
There's speculation that dissent over Dion's decision to appoint former provincial NDP cabinet minister Joan Beatty as the Liberal candidate in the sprawling northern riding could hurt the party.
NDP Leader Jack Layton said some voters may resent Dion deciding who should run.
"I was in northern Saskatchewan and there certainly wasn't a positive reaction to the idea that someone would reach in from Ottawa and tell them who ought to be their candidate," he told CTV's Mike Duffy Live.
He added that his own party's contender, Brian Morin, is "a great candidate."
"He's been a hockey referee for 35 years, and maybe we could use a referee in the House of Commons every now and then," said Layton.
All three candidates running in Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River are First Nations people.
Urban seats
The Liberal candidates in Toronto Centre and Willowdale are former Ontario NDP leader Bob Rae and Martha Hall Findlay.
Rae said Toronto voters are tired of a government that seems to ignore urban issues like infrastructure.
"They want a government that's going to listen to cities and listen to the people of Toronto," he told reporters. "I think they have a feeling now that's not the kind of government they have, that's the kind of government they want to see."
In 2006, the Liberals captured more than 50 per cent of the vote in both Toronto ridings. The NDP finished second in Toronto Centre, but trailed the Liberals by more than 16,000 votes.
In the same election, the Liberals got more than 49 per cent of the vote in Vancouver Quadra. The Conservatives finished second, but trailed by at least 10,000 votes. The same margin was seen in Willowdale.
The Conservatives are not seen as a strong threat in the urban ridings. In 2006, they failed to win a single seat in Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver.
Meanwhile, weather shouldn't be a factor in preventing people from getting to the polls, Elections Canada spokesman John Enright told CTV.ca on Monday.
There are no weather warnings for any of the byelection ridings.
Voter turnout could still be substantially less than the 2006 federal election, if advance-poll voting is an indication (2006 advance poll number; total 2006 voter turnout in brackets):
- Vancouver Quadra - 3,437 (6,097; 67.6 per cent)
- Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River - 850 (2,365; 58.4 per cent)
- Toronto Centre - 1,721 (5,220; 66.5 per cent)
- Willowdale (Toronto) - 1,462 (6,057; 63.8 per cent)
