Torontonians should vote NDP if they want to say "no" to a Stephen Harper-led Conservative government, NDP leader Jack Layton says.
"It's no secret we have a dwindling number of neighbours who think that voting (Liberal) is a way to say no to Mr. Harper," he told a rally of about 400 people in the city on Saturday.
"I'm only going to say one thing about that: The House that the people will build in this election will have New Democrat MPs who stand up for this city, stand up this country, stand up for ordinary working people and stand up to Mr. Harper and members of Parliament who will actually stand up to vote!"
Rosemary Thompson, CTV's deputy Ottawa bureau chief who has been covering Layton this week, told ctvtoronto.ca that a small group of Liberal protesters outside the rally were arguing that a vote for the NDP would elect a Conservative government.
"We've seen that twice -- here and Vancouver," she said.
Layton, who represents the Toronto-Danforth riding, currently has two other Toronto MPs in his 30-member national caucus -- Peggy Nash of Parkdale-High Park and Olivia Chow in Trinity-Spadina. Chow is Layton's wife.
Toronto sent 20 Liberal MPs to Ottawa following the 2006 federal election.
The NDP did finish second in three other ridings: York South-Weston, Davenport and Beaches-East York. However, even in Beaches-East York, which the NDP represents provincially, the party could come no closer than 2,800 votes behind the Liberal incumbent.
Marilyn Churley, the former NDP MPP, will try again to unseat Maria Minna in Beaches-East York.
"Marilyn says that at the doorstop, things look pretty good and that there's a lot of disappointment with Dion's leadership," Thompson said.
At Saturday's rally, people held signs saying Layton on one side and "strong leader" on the other.
One of the NDP's campaign themes is "we need a different kind of strong."
Thompson said Toronto has been a long-time bastion for the Liberals.
"I haven't seen any GTA polling, but if you look at the national numbers, the Liberals are down," she said.
This was Layton's second day of campaigning in the GTA since the election was called on Sept. 7 for an Oct. 14 vote.
Dion has campaigned in Pickering and Mississauga, while Harper has been in Mississauga and Vaughn.
Thompson suggested that as the campaign goes on, one should watch to see how much time Dion is spending in Toronto and the GTA. If he's spending a lot of time in a region of supposed Liberal bedrock, it could indicate problems for the Liberals here, she said.
