Harper Paints Toronto Conservative Blue

He may be riding high in national opinion polls, but Conservative Leader Stephen Harper still has some ground to cover when it comes to winning over traditionally Liberal voters in Toronto.

Two protesters were escorted out of a rally in Scarborough where Harper was speaking Friday evening and the Tory chief started Saturday off in the riding of Don Valley West to help shore up support for his local candidate John Carmichael.
** I wonder if it were rodogg and Kommander - inside joke **
Harper has tried to win over the urban vote by promising tax breaks for transit users and has tried to offer assurances that a Conservative government wouldn’t go too far to the right. On Saturday he also touched on the issues of crime and daycare.“Mr. Martin says the money should go to the experts. I say there are millions of childcare experts in this country - their names are mom and dad, that's who we're going to be helping.”The Conservatives have promised $1,200 in annual assistance to parents for every child under six years old.The Tory chief has been accused of shielding his candidates from the media, especially those who’ve spoken out about abortion and same-sex marriage. On reporter was apparently grabbed by Conservative security when he tried to ask Carmichael a question at Saturday’s rally.Harper insists open and accountable government is one of his top priorities and that was the message he delivered to supporters on Saturday.“Friends, it's time to turn the page. It's time to have a new government that will find the missing money and hold those responsible for stealing it accountable to the Canadian people,” he said. “It's time to have a new national government that will not be distracted by scandals, corruptions and police investigations and will get on with addressing the real concerns of real ordinary working people.”The first item on his agenda, should he be elected prime minister, would be to put forward the Federal Accountability Act, he said.Harper is spending Saturday trying to shore up support around southern Ontario with scheduled stops in Guelph, Strathroy and Sarnia.
The latest polls still put the Tories out front by a significant margin. An EKOS survey indicates the Conservatives have 37 percent support, compared with just under 27 percent for the Liberals. An IPSOS-Reid poll gives Harper 38 percent compared to 26 percent for Martin.